Tales of Love and War
by HateLove words
Summary: In any other world, at any other moment in time, the tale of love between Lily Evans and James Potter might have been a lot simpler. But the fact was, they lived at Hogwarts, in a time of war, and their tale was anything but simple.
1. A Tale of Early Morning

It was a typical, lazy summer morning in Cokeworth. A gentle breeze blew through the trees in the park, and the sun shone on lines of identical terraced houses. One would expect peace and calm on such a morning.

"MUM! WHERE THE HELL IS MY HERBOLOGY BOOK? AND HAS ANYONE SEEN MY GREEN SPOTTED SOCKS?" A loud yell ripped through the air as Lily Evans rushed down the stairs, her long red hair blowing wildly round her face. She rushed into the kitchen, still in her pyjamas. Her mother looked at her warily over her mug of steaming hot coffee.

"Your Herbology book is in your trunk, where you put it last night, and I have no idea where your socks might be. It's probably best if you have breakfast and get dressed, darling. It's half past nine, and-"

"What?" Lily exclaimed in shock "I thought I had ages! We've got to be at the station at eleven sharp, Mum!" She ran over to the toaster and put some bread in, then ran upstairs to get dressed. Her room was unnaturally tidy, with most of her possessions packed away in a big trunk. This was now sitting in a corner, still open. Inside, everything she was going to need this year was neatly stacked. She sighed, decided to give up on ever finding those green spotted socks, and strapped the trunk shut. She then pulled on some jeans and a thin jumper, and ran back downstairs to collect her toast.

Rebeca Evans looked at her youngest daughter while she wandered round the kitchen, munching on her half-burnt toast. She had changed a lot over the past few years, grown taller and more graceful. Her hair was longer, too, way past her shoulder. But the changes weren't just physical: she was more mature now than when she first received that strange letter. She was a good listener, sensitive, understanding. She was more calm, except for moments like this when she just got stressed out, and had more patience than her elder sister.

Petunia had grown up a lot too, but had also got colder. Where it concerned her sister, Petunia was distant and stand-offish. The two of them had grown apart, gone their separate ways. They had led different lives during their teenage years, and it would be hard for them to make up for that lost time.

Mrs. Evans was jolted out of her thoughts by Lily's voice "Sorry, Lily, I didn't quite catch that..."

"I asked if Dad and Petunia were coming to the station, or just you?" Lily tried to be understanding about the awkwardness between her sister and her, but it was hard to live with someone who just stared at you and ignored you most of the time.

"Just me. Your Dad's at work, and Petunia..." the sentence was left unfinished.

Yeah, Petunia kind of hates me Lily thought to herself as she finished her toast.

"Anyway, darling, have you packed yet?" Mrs. Evans inquired, trying to fill in the slightly uncomfortable silence.

"Um, yeah, I just finished..." Her mind was still vaguely pondering about her sister, and how she hated everything about magic, and how she hated Severus... At the name, Lily felt a pang of pain.

It had been a whole summer of not speaking to him at all, the boy who used to be her best friend. They had shared everything: from fears to dreams to Pumpkin Pasties. They had been so close, like siblings. She'd told Sev stuff that she'd never told her sister. And he, in turn, had opened up to her. She knew all the details of his life, what he thought of when he was half asleep, where he hid when his parents argued... All of it.

But then, when they got to Hogwarts, he changed. Or maybe she changed. Or maybe both of them did? It was hard to tell, but the fact was, he was a Slytherin and she was a Gryffindor, and there was nothing they could do to change that.

In 3rd year, he'd started hanging out with a bunch of idiots, or as Lily thought of them "soon-to-be Death Eaters". Their main hobby was hanging around corridors and jinxing people for the fun of it. Mind you, the so-called Marauders did that a fair bit... But at least they didn't call people Mudbloods...

She could still remember the pain, the disappointment she'd felt when she heard that insult come from her best friend. But that was a long time ago, and some things were best left alone. "Let sleeping dogs lie" as her Dad always said.

At that very same moment, her ex-best friend, with greasy black hair and a hooked nose, was sitting on the edge of his bed. He was thinking about Lily.

Her green eyes.

That time in the park when he almost kissed her. Almost.

All the moments in Potions when they paired up together.

Her bright red hair.

The hours of studying together, that didn't seem like hours but like seconds if he was with her.

That other time he almost kissed her. Almost.

God, he missed her. So much. _Too_ much. It was unbearable, he thought about her all the time. And it only got worse, as he saw her walking in a corridor, laughing with her friends, studying in the Library...

He would give anything, _anything_, to have her back. And so he made up his mind: this year, he was going to tell her how he felt.

He was going to tell her he loved her.


	2. A Tale of First Day Back

Platform 9 & ¾ was one of Lily's favorite places in the world, with its steam-filled air and its red brick walls. Not because it was particularly beautiful, or peaceful, or even that clean, but she loved it for it's charm, and the feelings that came along with it. The excitement of the new year ahead of her (her 6th year in this case), wanting to see her friends again, getting on the train... Oh, it was great to be going back!

She walked down the side of the train, moving through the crowd as she searched for an empty compartment. Her mother had had to leave to get to work on time, after a few tears and "I'll miss you"s. She smiled and waved at a few people she recognised, when suddenly-

"LILY!" She felt someone jump on her back as she fell forward, trying to steady herself. She turned round, already knowing who she was going to find.

"AV!" They hugged each other warmly. It was her best friend, Avril Diggory. She'd missed her so much over the summer! They'd seen each other once or twice, but Avril had spent most of the holidays in Malta, and so hadn't seen each other as much as they'd wanted.

They took a step back and smiled at each other. To be honest, Avril was drop-dead gorgeous: she had straight blonde hair past her shoulders, big hazel eyes, a fair complexion, and a body to die for. She was flirty, enjoyed the company of boys rather than girls (with the obvious exception of Lily), and had had more boyfriends over the past years than anyone would dare to count. However, she did have a loving side too: when Severus and Lily had finally fallen out, Avril had been the one who listened, the one who had understood what she was going through. She had been there for her when Sev hadn't, and she'd never forget that.

"I've missed you so much, Lils!" Her best friend exclaimed.

"So have I! So, how was Malta?"

"Oh, it was truly brilliant, we've got to go there together one day! I met this guy who was showing me the best places to visit, and-"

Lily chuckled "Trust you to find a guy the minute you get there..."

"Well, he was pretty hot, but I actually didn't see him for that long... I was more interested in this _other _bloke, who... oh, Lily, he was _so _yummy! You should have seen him, tall and dark and handsome, with these big dark eyes... mmmm..." Her eyes lit up with the image she was remembering, as Lily looked on with a smile.

"Anyway, shouldn't we find a compartment?" She looked at her watch "Yep, it's three minutes to eleven, let's go". They walked companionably alongside the train, chatting about their summer, and filling in on the details they'd missed.

They finally found a compartment that was empty, and sat down. Lily prefered the one next to the window. Her favourite part of the journey was the first sight of Hogwarts, and she didn't want to miss it this year. She had a feeling this year was going to be special: good things were going to happen, she was going to be nice to everyone, and everyone was going to be nice to-

Her thoughts were interrupted as four boys walked into the compartment. She let out a sigh as she saw who they were.

"Look what we have here, if it isn't old Lily-flower and her friend Dig-digs" James Potter smirked as said Lily-flower glared at him.

James Potter was decidedly a prat. He was a good-for-nothing lazy git who never did anything worthwhile: he only cared about Quidditch and members of the opposite sex. He walked around the grounds like he owned the place, annoying people just for the sake of it.

"Oh, just get out of here, Potter, and give us some peace" she retorted.

"It's a free country, and a free compartment! If it really bothers you that much, compartment D is empty too" Sirius Black commented amicably as he sat down opposite Avril. Sirius wasn't as bad as James, in Lily's opinion, but he was still a bit of an idiot. A handsome one, but an idiot nonetheless.

"Sorry, Lily, we didn't mean to bother you. Or at least, _I_ didn't" Remus said, pointedly looking at James, who had sat down next to Sirius.

Of the four boys, Remus was probably the one Lily spoke to the most to. He wasn't as daft as the others, more responsible and mature. Maybe it was the tired look in his eyes, or the way he got nervous when James and Sirius pulled one of their stupid pranks, but Lily felt more kindly towards him than towards the others.

Peter Pettigrew, on the other hand, she disliked a lot more. There wasn't a particular reason for it, she just didn't trust him too much. He wasn't as clever as the other three, but adored them, and would do anything they asked of him. He sat down next to Sirius, and Remus finally sat down too.

"So, Lily-flower, how was your summer?" James asked.

"It was good: at least I got a rest from your presence" she threw back at him.

James winced: no matter how hard he tried, Lily didn't like him. What had _he_ done to deserve that? Actually, he probably did deserve it. He'd been pulling pranks on her since 1st year, mostly just to get her attention. Turning her hair to gold in 2nd year probably hadn't helped much, and she'd been livid after he'd filled her dorm with nightingales in 3rd year. But he was more mature now, he'd changed. He'd decided that this year he was going to take a different approach, and try to show her that he was a better person than she thought.

While he was thinking, the conversation had moved onto a different topic.

"So, hey, Remus, shouldn't we be heading towards the Prefect compartment? We might have to do patrols or whatever" Lily commented.

"Yeah... Not a bad idea. Jeremy Edgecombe will be going on at us for getting there late..." Lily and Remus were the Gryffindor Prefects. The previous year, it had come as a surprise to none of them when they got chosen. They were both studious and fairly responsible, although Remus suspected Dumbledore had picked him so he would influence James and Sirius. Sadly, that wasn't going to happen.

"Probably... We could go now. I'll see you up at the Hall, ok, Av?" Lily got up and moved to open the door, but someone else opened it before her. It took her a second to recognise her, but then the eyes of everyone in the compartment widened in shock.

"Robyn Viner, could you please explain what the hell you've done to your hair?" Avril shouted out.

The girl that had just entered grinned. She was tall, and quite pale, with big silvery-blue eyes. She was wearing what appeared to be large orange radishes on her ears. But that wasn't the most unusual aspect of her appearance, for this girl had her hair (which used to be a pale blonde) dyed a shocking shade of blue.

"It's a long story, Av..."

"By all means, tell it, Robyn: we've got a whole train journey to listen" Sirius grinned.

She smiled at him pleasantly "Well, I was on holiday in Sweden, when we were looking for some Crumple-Horned Snorkacks, and-"

"Crumple-Horned what?" six voices inquired.

"Crumple-Horned Snorkack. It's a creature that's native in Sweden, you see." The rest of the compartment looked slightly bemused, but she nevertheless continued with her story. "So we were in Sweden, searching for these animals, and we decided to try tricking them. As most of you probably know, they're attracted to the color blue. So Mummy said we could try turning some stones and trees around us blue, and maybe they would come nearer. And I tried the spell she suggested, but it turned me hair blue instead."

"And why don't you just turn it back?" Peter asked as the rest of them laughed loudly.

"I've tried, my parents tried, but the spell just won't break. I don't mind, though, it doesn't look so bad..." she said, smiling around.

Lily grinned at her. After sharing a dormitory with her for five years, she had come to know Robyn Viner quite well. Most people considered her to be slightly crazy, but really she was just different. She loved painting, and the girls dormitory floor had been covered in big splodges on more than one occasion. But she was a nice person to be with, and could keep a secret (something that Lily appreciated in people).

Remus looked at Lily again "We should really get to the Prefect's compartment now..."

Lily agreed, and after hugging Robyn warmly, they both left. They walked through the corridor, which rocked a bit from the movement of the train.

"How was your summer, then, Remus? Weren't you going camping this year?"

"Mmm, yeah, it was good" he muttered vaguely. In fact, it had been anything but good. They had gone camping, but it had been a day or two before the full moon, and he hadn't been feeling so well. His parents had ended up arguing bitterly, and they'd just wanted to go home.

Lily looked at him. "Are you ok?" sometimes he worried her. He seemed a bit depressed, even though most of the time he hid it behind a facade of smiles and good humor.

"Yup, I'm fine..." He grinned, the moment of sadness disappearing completely. "How was your summer?"

"Oh, it was great! I didn't actually do much, just lazed around mostly... But it's good to relax sometimes, you know?"

"Mm-hmm, I get what you mean. I haven't done much either! And how was stuff with your sister?" he asked tentatively.

Lily sighed. "She's... she still hasn't forgiven me for coming to Hogwarts. It's been five years, Remus, she should have gotten over it by now! It's just... I... what was I meant to do? It's not my fault I'm a witch..."

"No, it's not your fault... You can't change who you are..." he said thoughtfully.

"I guess not... Hey, Dorcas!" she shouted out as she spotted another of her friends.

"Lily!" They hugged each other tightly. "Hey, Remus, how's it going?" she grinned at him.

Dorcas Meadowes was nice to everyone by nature, that was just what she was like. She wasn't even horrible to Slytherins, and that was saying something for a Gryffindor. She was a pretty calm person in general. The only time she ever got out-of-control was on the Quidditch field: she played Chaser for the house team, and she was one of the best players (the best being the captain, James Potter,). That's why she'd cut her dark brown hair so short, just below her ears, because it got in her way when she played. It rather suited her.

"We were just going to the prefect's compartment. If you want to find Av and Robyn, they're right at the other end. I'll catch up with you in the Great Hall, yeah?" Lily said.

"Ok, see you later!" Dorcas walked off, while Remus knocked on the door.

"Come in" a voice said from the inside.

The both stepped inside, to a compartment-full of Prefects.

"Great, we were waiting for you to arrive! We can start the meeting now" Jeremy Edgecombe proclaimed.

They sat down as Jeremy began to speak. Lily looked around her, and felt a jolt of shock as she saw the Slytherin Prefect. Sev had noticed her too, and was staring at her with pain in his eyes. She decided to ignore him completely, and looked around her again. There were Amos Diggory (Avril's sister) and Margaret Sprout for Hufflepuff, and Ruby Clearwater and Jeremy for Ravenclaw. Next to Severus, Jessica Parkinson was sitting demurely, an expression of superiority on her face. You had to admit, if she didn't always have such an expression on her, she'd actually be quite beautiful. But, alas, she was a mean person, and Lily had a profound dislike for her.

"We'll have a meeting in a week's time to arrange the night patrols round the castle, and that's more or less it. Any questions?" Jeremy asked.

When everyone agreed that there were no questions, and that they'd meet up next Monday, they all left.

When Lily and Remus finally got back to the compartment after a few patrols of the train, they had nearly reached Hogsmeade. James and Dorcas were having a game of Wizard's Chess, while Peter looked on, encouraging his friend every so often. Sirius and Avril were chatting at the far end, the latter flirting as usual. Robyn was sitting at the far end, reading a Muggle book (titled "The Book Thief").

James looked up as she walked in. He noted how gorgeous she looked in that green jumper, which brought out the colour of her eyes. She glanced in his direction, saw him looking, and raised an eyebrow. He was going to say something witty when Peter nudged him: it was his turn to move. By the time he'd done that, Lily had already sat down next to Avril.

"Me and Sirius were just wondering if there'd be a new girl in our dormitory this year. You know, seeing as Janine left last year..." Janine was a Muggle-born who had always had a love for dancing. At the end of the previous school-year, she'd announced she wouldn't be coming back: she was going to continue her studies at a dance academy.

"Probably..." Lily mused. "We'll just have to wait and see, right? In any case, I hope she's nice..."

"Yeah, let's hope she's not a nutter like the last one!" Sirius laughed. Janine had a reputation of being a bit crazy, maybe because of those occasional fits of temper that she'd burst into.

"Hey, she wasn't crazy, she was just... temperamental" Lily finished lamely, trying to conceal a smile.

"I agree with Lily, let's just hope she's nice" Avril sentenced, while Sirius burst out laughing.

By the time they reached the castle, the sky had turned a dark shade of indigo, and a handful of stars had been scattered across the ceiling of the Great Hall.

Lily was sitting amidst her friends, who were chatting loudly while she looked up towards the High Table. A nervous line of 1st years were walking up to it, as the Sorting hat made it's annual speech.

"Jessica Poston" Professor McGonagall called out.

The Hat deliberated for a moment, then cried "HUFFLPUFF". That table cheered as Jessica Abbot, her plaits swinging, made her way towards it.

"Leah Potter" she called out again. Lily looked round to find James, as the girl the professor had called out made her way to the stool. She had messy black hair and hazel eyes that twinkled in the same way her brother's did.

James was looking towards her, biting his lip. No one but Sirius, who sat right next to him, noticed that under the table he had his fingers crossed.

The Hat takes a long time, deliberating. The whole hall gets tense as the hat continues to think it through. It's obvious from the look on her face that Leah's getting nervous too. Seconds pass, and there's silence in the hall. Then...

"SLYTHERIN"


	3. A Tale of Attacks at Hogwarts

**A/N: thank you, everyone, for all the reviews! I appreciate them so much :)**

* * *

In the following silence, the whole of the Great Hall seemed to wonder if they had heard correctly. But there was no doubt about it: James Potters' sister, _the_ James Potter, famous for his hate towards Slytherins, had indeed put into that very house.

It took only a second for the Slytherins to react, and then they burst into cheers, acclaiming Leah as one of their own. She looked rather shocked, but hurried forward towards her table.

James Potter, on the other hand, certainly wasn't cheering. He sat in silence, wondering how it was possible that his younger sister had been placed in the very house he loathed. It just wasn't real, he thought: it couldn't be.

"James?" Sirius asked tentatively, biting his lower lip.

James looked round at him, worry in his eyes. "Uh-huh?"

"Well, we were just wondering..." he said, nodding towards Remus and Peter, who were also looking rather concerned. "...if you're ok? You know, about..." he gestured towards the Slytherin table, where Leah was sitting only a few seats away from Snape. The image made James gag slightly, and he turned away, facing Sirius again.

"Yeah, I'm ok... I don't want to talk about it right now, right?" he said, fully conscious of a few eavesdroppers around them.

Sirius seemed to notice too, and nodded. "Ok. I hope they finish this Sorting soon, I'm starving..." He looked towards the Hat hopefully, where McGonagall was still on the "T"s.

At the other end of the table, Lily was looking towards James. He seemed distracted, which was only to be expected. Who could have predicted his sister would end up in that particular house? It was unusual, to say the least. She scanned the Slytherin table, her gaze resting only for a second on her ex-best-friend, before finding James' sister. Leah, was it? Well, in every other aspect she seemed remarkably like her brother: even the same cheeky grin.

At that moment, the Sorting ended, and the professor returned to her seat, as Dumbledore stood up.

"Welcome" he said, his blue eyes twinkling warmly, "to another year at Hogwarts. I could enumerate the list of rules and banned objects that Mr. Filch has written up this time, but that might take longer than you'd want. So, tuck in!" He sat down again, and food appeared on all the dishes. Everyone tucked in.

Lily served herself a portion of chicken, as Avril filled up everyone's goblets with Pumpkin Juice. Everyone around her was chatting pleasantly, excitement about the new year filling the Great Hall. She hadn't realized exactly how much she missed it during the summer, but now she was back she felt right. She was home: and it felt good to be back.

A scream pierced the noise in the room. Suddenly, peoples' heads were turning, trying to find the person who had yelled in such a way. Lily stood up a bit, and finally saw a boy running in through the doorway. She recognized him to be Emmeline Robinson, a 5th year Hufflepuff. They had studied together on a couple of occasions, but apart from that Lily didn't know her much more.

Emmeline ran up to the High Table, right up to Dumbledore. As she did, it was apparent to everyone in the Hall that she was crying. But that wasn't what worried people the most, for she was clutching her side, and blood was seeping from between her fingers.

"I... Tim Vance... he... I don't know what's wrong, he just... he went crazy, and... attacked me... he's got a knife!" she gasped, a look of utter shock on her face.

A few people screamed, and all hell broke loose. Students stood up quickly, and started moving in every direction, pushing at each other. Lily fell forward as a Ravenclaw knocked past her.

Then Dumbledore's voice boomed out over the racket. "Please, could the Prefects step forward and lead the rest of their students back to their respective dormitories. I ask you to remain calm and go quietly." With that, he exited through a back door, followed by Professors McGonagall and Slughorn.

Lily stood up, and tried to catch Remus' eye. Fortunately, he was trying to do the same. She mouthed at him "You the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, me the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th". He nodded, and called out "1st, 2nd and 3rd years over here! Follow me!".

Lily attempted to raise her voice above the noise, but no one could hear her too well. She tried again, but no one was listening. All of a sudden, she felt someone next to her calling in a loud voice. "The rest of the Gryffindors, follow Evans! She's over here! And I'm first in the queue!". Lily looked round, and found herself staring at an amused looking James Potter. She scowled, and he winked at her.

People were looking at her expectantly, so she said "Right, follow me to the Common Room...". She lead the way, up staircases and along corridors. She felt rather nervous (What if Tim Vance finds another student? Where did they say he was? I hope he doesn't come here... I hope Emmeline is ok...), but tried not to show it. They finally reached the Fat Lady, who was looking rather excited.

"Did you hear about the boy who attacked one of the students? Nothing like that has happened since Myrtle was killed" she said to Lily. The latter ignored her, simply stating "Ruby stars". The portrait swung open reluctantly, and the Gryffindors clambered in. In the safety of the Common room, nervous conversations started to break out. She searched for a friends, and found them next to the fire.

"Hey, Lils!" Dorcas exclaimed as she saw her. "Are you ok? Did they tell you anything?"

"No... They haven't really had time, and they probably don't know what happened yet..." she said, sitting down next to Robyn.

"I bet Dumbledore knows something, though..." Avril mused thoughtfully. "He always seems to know everything... Weird, though... I mean, Tim Vance always seemed such a nice guy... good looking, too... I snogged him in the 3rd floor broom cupboard once..."

"Trust you, Av... Who _haven't_ you snogged in a broom cupboard at some point in your life?" Dorcas smirked.

All the same, Avril was right. Not about the good looking part (although that too), but about him being a nice person. He wouldn't be the first person you'd think would attack a fellow student. He was a Hufflepuff, for starters. Always seemed fairly normal, not unbalanced in any way.

"I wonder what they were doing, though. Neither of them were at supper..." Robyn thought out loud.

Avril stared at her for a second, then burst out laughing. Dorcas and Lily giggled too.

"Robyn, everyone knows Tim and Emmeline have been dating since 4th year... What do you _think_ they were doing?" Av said.

"Mmm, what's all this? Gossiping, are we?" a voice said from behind their backs. They turned round to find the Marauders grinning at them. To Lily's dismay, they sat down, James not-so-discreetly sitting right next to her.

Avril smiled flirtatiously at Sirius. "Well, we were, and if you have anything of interest to add..."

Lily groaned under her breath: even though they were best friends, she had to admit Av was a bit_ too_ flirty, especially around handsome guys like Sirius. Mind you, being Avril, it usually worked. So she was slightly surprised when Sirius returned the smile only half-heartedly, and didn't throw a witty comment back as usual.

"No, not much of interest... They haven't really told anyone anything yet!"

"Not even the prefects" Remus added as Lily nodded in silent agreement.

"In any case" James said, "who wants a game of Explod-"

He fell silent as the Portrait Hole swung open, revealing their Head of House, Proffesor McGonagall. She paused for a second, waiting for conversation to die down, and began her announcement.

"As probably all of you know, there has been a certain... event during tonight's feast. It occurred in the Astronomy tower-". At this, most of the students smirked knowingly, and some even laughed out loud, including Sirius. "This is not a laughing matter, Mr. Black. The fact that a student has attacked another with a knife is a serious subject. In light of this event, the Headmaster has decided to impose a curfew. Students will not be allowed outside the castle after 9 o'clock."

A sigh went up all round, but the professors' expression was adamant.

"Now, if the Gryffindor Prefects could please follow me"

Lily and Remus looked at each other in surprise, but got up fast, following McGonagall down through the portrait hole. They walked quickly through the deserted corridors, until they a pair small statues. Lily recognized where they were, but she had been here only on counted occasions.

"Sugar Quills" McGonagall said. The gargoyles jumped aside, and they went into the Headmasters' office. As they entered, Lily breathed in the smell of old books, and... something else, but she could never quite place her finger on it.

All the teachers were there, some of them sitting down on chairs, other stood around. The other Prefects were there as well, looking round and trying not to seem nervous. The usual jolt of recognition went through Lily as she saw Sev standing on the far side.

He mouthed "Hi" at her, but she just looked at Professor Dumbledore, ignoring him. She still felt too strongly about him to talk to him; she wasn't going to forgive easily, if at all.

The Headmaster stood up, his deep purple robes swishing around him. He had an air of calm that no one else had right now, and gazed at the people around him.

"All of you know why I've called you here, or at least, you know what it's about. One of our students, Emmeline , was attacked by a friend of hers. They were in the Astronomy Tower, when he suddenly sprang at her with a knife. He also attempted to use the Cruciatus Curse upon her. She was injured gravely, and very lucky to get away. Madam Pomfrey is attending to her at this very moment. We found Tim Vance still in the tower. It appears he was under the Imperius Curse. Therefore, we will not be holding him responsible for his actions." He waited for the information to sink in. "Now, I know this is unusual, and hopefully will not happen again, but it is our duty to prevent other occurrences like this. I am here to ask you for suggestions as to what we should do." At this, he looked around expectantly.

Everyone seemed to doubt for a while, unsure what to say.

"But, sir... erm, aren't _you_ meant to tell us what we should do?" Jeremy Edgecombe asked, rather unsure.

Dumbledores' eyes twinkled. "Oh, Mr. Edgecombe, I think anyone who I have called here is quite capable of coming up with a better idea than any of mine"

A few second of silence, and then Lily decided to speak up.

"Ummm... we could organize patrols around the castle... at night, or..."

"That's a good idea, sir!" Severus said quickly. Only Dumbledore seemed to notice how fast he had been to agree with Lily, for the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

The Astronomy teacher spoke up. "We could have both teachers and Prefects patrolling. And the curfew should help too..."

"We could put up extra security spells around the castle boundaries" Ruby Clearwater, a Ravenclaw prefect, suggested.

Dumbledore smiled. "Thank you. I think that should be enough for now."

"Sir, do you know who Imperiused Tim Vance?" Remus asked nervously.

"Alas, I do not. We will try to find out as soon as possible. He is in the Hospital Wing, and I shall speak to him as soon as he has recovered."

"But... why would anyone want to attack Emmeline?" Amos Diggory mused.

"As to that, we can only guess. Now, I suggest everyone go and get a good nights' sleep: after all, you might be patrolling tomorrow night."

With that, they all got up, and made their way towards their respective dormitories. Lily and Remus walked in silence, each deep in their own thoughts.

"What are you thinking, Remus?" Lily asked.

He sighed. "Well... I don't really know how to say this without sounding... You see, Emmeline's a Muggleborn, and... with all the attacks on Muggleborns going on outside the castle..."

"You think she was attacked for not being a Pureblood?" Lily's eyebrows went up in surprise.

"It's possible, right? I mean, just the other day, the Death Eaters killed a whole family, just because the mother was a Muggle, and the kids were Half-Blood... And there's been so many werewolf attacks, and they said in the papers there might have been a spotting of Inferi over in Glasgow.."

"I know... It just seems so... I don't know... Who could have Imperiused Tim, anyway? And who would want to?"

"It could have been anyone, it's impossible to know..." Remus said, as they turned round the corner. They finally faced the Fat Lady, who was fast asleep.

They woke her up, and she let them in grudgingly. They stepped through the hole.

"Well, whoever it was, I hope Dumbledore finds them. They can't just go around Imperiusing people..." Lily yawned widely. Remus yawned too, catching Lily's.

"Anyway, see you tomorrow... I hope it's a better day than today..." They parted, each for their own dormitories.

When Lily entered hers, her friends were still awake.

There were five beds in the dormitory: Lily's, then Avril's, Robyn's, and Dorcas's. The last one was where Janine used to sleep. But now, there was another girl sitting on the bed.


	4. A Tale of Two Boys with Crushes

**Thanks for the reviews guys! I'm trying to post regularly (I know that feeling when you want to read a story and the writer just ISN'T publishing it...), so thank you for the encouragement.**

* * *

The girl sitting on Janine's ex-bed stood up.

The first thing Lily noticed about her was she was tall, taller than the rest of the girls. She had floaty blonde hair past her shoulders, and gorgeous blue eyes. In fact, everything about her seemed gorgeous: from her perfect smooth skin, to the way she moved gracefully towards Lily.

"Hi! I'm Angeline Beauregard." Her voice was sweet and clear. "I'm going to be sharing a dormitory with you all: it's going to be so much fun!" she giggled.

Lily looked over at Avril, who was raising her eyebrows; at Dorcas, who was smiling pleasantly as usual; and at Robyn, who was scowling at Angeline.

"Erm, right... great!" Lily exclaimed awkwardly. She walked over to her bed, and flopped down on it. Avril went over and sat down next to her.

"What did they say? Do they know why Tim attacked her?"

"They don't really know much... just that Tim was under the Imperius, and that he tried to attack her with a knife."

Dorcas gasped. "Oh, that's horrible! Why would anyone do that? And especially make Tim do it, they'd been dating for so long..."

Avril raised an eyebrow. "Isn't it obvious? Emmeline's Muggleborn, everyone knows that."

"Remus thought that too! It might not have been that, though... it could have been for any reason, someone with a grudge against Emmeline or whatever..." Lily thought out loud.

"Let's face it" Avril continued, "there's not many people who would have a grudge against her. She's like Dorc here; everyone likes her, she's just naturally good-natured."

Dorcas smiled sweetly, while Angenline contemplated the scene thoughtfully.

"Haven't you considered it might have been Tim who attacked her? Slashed her with the knife, and then when she got away put the Imperius Curse on himself so as not to look suspicious?" she suggested.

Avril looked doubtful. "It seems a bit far-fetched to me, to be honest..."

"_Too_ far-fetched for my liking..." Robyn added. She was looking at Angeline with complete distaste. It was unusual for her, who usually didn't dislike anyone that badly. Lily mentally told herself to ask her about it later.

"And is that even possible, Imperiusing yourself?" she wondered.

"I don't know, it was just a possibility..." Angeline smiled sweetly.

"Yeah... I guess... Anyway, I'm really tired, I'm going to try and get some sleep..." Lily undressed, put her pyjamas on, and hopped into bed. The rest of the girls did the same

It had been a long day: first days back usually were, but this one was above average. Hogwarts was usually considered safe, a place where parents were happy to send their children. But if a student got attacked...

Things were changing, and not just withing the castle. This so-called Lord Voldemort was starting to gain followers. People (mostly Purebloods, but not just them) agreed with him, and that gave him power. As she turned over in bed, Lily couldn't understand why people would think like that. How could one wizard be better than another, just because of their parentage? Because really, it was reduced to that: who your parents were, and whether they were wizards or Muggles. She had seen it time and time again, discrimination against people like her. She had felt it in the stares the Slytherins gave her when they passed by in the corridors. She had seen it in the eyes of the Arithmancy professor (well known for his anti-Muggle ideas) when she handed in her homework.

It wasn't fair. She had worked hard since she got the letter from Hogwarts, worked towards her ambition of being really good at magic. When she first arrived at the school, she had been worried she'd be at a disadvantage because she had not known about the magic world before, but she'd soon realized she could, and _would_, be brilliant, if she tried hard enough. And she had: she'd spent long hours in the Library, studied late into the night, and made the biggest effort in her entire life.

It had payed off. Her OWL's had arrived that summer, and she had got Outstanding in everything (except for Divination, but she was ditching that this year anyway). But even after her amazing marks, there were still people who thought of her as worse, inferior, just because of her blood.

It was late into the night when Lily finally got to sleep. And when she did, her dreams were full of sharp knives and floaty blond hair.

* * *

A dormitory away, James was also trying to get some sleep.

Sirius, Peter and Jake Wood (the other member of their dormitory), were fast asleep, but he had been lying in bed for ages, just thinking about what had happened at the Sorting.

Of course he was worried about Emmeline Robinson and all that, but it was his sister who really took up his mind. What had happened? She'd been sorted into the wrong house, that's what had happened. James knew his sister well, and she wasn't-

His thoughts were interrupted when Remus entered the room. James pretended to be asleep: he didn't really fancy explaining why he was still awake. Finally, Remus got into bed, his breathing getting more regular as he fell asleep.

* * *

Lily awoke to the loud ring of Dorcas' alarm-clock. She groaned, and tried to cover her head with her pillow, knowing too well that it was time to get up.

"Wake up, girls!" Dorcas half-shouted. "We've got to have breakfast before going to class."

Lily heard Avril and Robyn mumbling curses at Dorcas, and muffled a laugh. It was typical, Dorcas always got up first, and tried to get the rest out of bed.

She raised her head slowly. Dorcas was up and already dressed, Robyn was getting up, her bright blue hair sticking out in every direction, and Avril was covered completely by the sheets. By the sound of the running water, it seemed Angeline was first in the shower.

Lily got out of bed and pulled on her robes. She grabbed her bag, making sure all her books were in it, and sat down on her bed again. She yawned, tired from last night.

Robyn had also got dressed, with her usual self-decorated uniform (badges pinned on the tie, a few sequins on her robes, hand-painted baseball boots). She made her way over to Lily's bed, and sat down while Dorcas continued to attempt the feat of getting Avril out of bed.

Lily remembered the scowl on Robyn's face the night before. "Hey, Robyn, I noticed you didn't like the new girl" she said, making sure Angeline wouldn't hear her from the bathroom.

"Well..." her friend frowned. "It's not that I don't like her, as such... she just seems a bit silly... and I don't trust her."

"Strange, you usually trust almost anyone right from the start."

"Yes, but... I don't know, Angeline... she doesn't give me a very good feeling... do you know what I mean?"

"I guess..." Lily answered, although she didn't get what she meant at all. Angeline seemed a bit daft, but apart from that, there was nothing strange about her.

Dorcas finally decided to take drastic measures, grabbed Avril's feet, and dragged her out of bed. She fell on the floor with a loud _thunk_.

"Dorcas, you dumb-ass! You're evil!" Avril yelled between the laughter of her friends. Angeline came running in, her hair still wet, but already dressed.

"What? What happened?" she cried out.

Lily, Robyn and Dorcas tried to stop laughing, but couldn't quite manage it. Avril looked at them with narrowed eyes.

"Dorcas just tried to kill me, that's what happened. Dumb-ass..." she muttered.

Angeline continued to look puzzled, so Lily explained. "It's just Av's lazy, she won't get out of bed on time, so Dorcas kindly helped her up..."

"Ah, I see..." Angeline giggled. "Anyway, I'm going down to breakfast... Are you girls coming soon? I want to get to meet the rest of the people..."

"Yeah, we're coming, as soon as Avril gets ready..." Dorcas said.

"Right, I'll see you down there, then." With a smile, Angeline left the dormitory.

Avril started pulling her robes on, grumbling under her breath. When she finally got ready, they went downstairs to the Great Hall. Lily hadn't realized how hungry she was until she saw the giant platter of golden toast right in the middle of Gryffindor table.

They all sat down and helped themselves to the food. Lily spread some pumpkin jam on hers, and took a big bite. She looked around her, feeling absolutely content.

She noticed Angeline sitting at the other end of the table. Unsurprisingly, she was surrounded by a large group of students, most of them male. It seemed the news of a new (and pretty) student traveled fast.

Robyn had also noticed, and raised an eyebrow. "Hark at Angeline! What a flirt... I bet she'll have snogged at least 3 of the guys before the end of the day..."

"Robyn! That's actually quite mean of you..." Avril said. "And there's nothing wrong with snogging guys, you know... You should try it sometime, Robyn... You too, Lils..."

Lily blushed slightly. There was only one person she had thought of kissing, and it had only ever been once. But seeing as right now she wasn't on speaking terms with him... Her eyes automatically searched the Slytherin table, and found the guy she was thinking of. He was sitting with Antonin Dolohov, and they were deep in conversation.

Ugh, Antonin Dolohov... Of all people... He was known around the school for his support of the Death Eater cause, and had often been caught jinxing Muggleborns around the school.

But it was none of her business who Sev got together with. Not anymore. She was determined to forget about him this year.

She looked away from him, and saw Professor McGonagall making her way towards her.

"Ms. Evans, these are the timetables for all the Gryffindors," she said, handing her a thick wad of parchment. "If you could please hand them out during breakfast..."

Lily stood up, and began passing around timetables to each corresponding student. She found hers, and quickly scanned through it. Herbology, Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts... In short, all the "important" subjects.

To be honest, she didn't really know what she wanted to do for a living. Avril wanted to work in the Magical Maintenance department since she had visited the Ministry of Magic when she was 8 years old; Dorcas wanted to play Quidditch for the Chuddley Cannons (she was Chaser on the house team); and Robyn was already enlisted in a Muggle Art college for when she left Hogwarts. None of these careers appealed to Lily. She had picked the subjects she thought might be useful, but apart from that... she had no idea.

"Auror?" a voice came from behind her shoulder. She spun round and noticed James Potter standing behind her.

"Will you stop doing that!" she shot at him.

"Stop doing what?" he smirked. He found Lily so beautiful when she got angry, with her red hair swinging wildly around her face.

Lily mistook the smile on his face. "I'm serious, it's not funny! Don't creep up on me like that, or one day I'll just react on a whim and jinx you!"

He laughed, then stopped himself quickly by the look of irritation on her face. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I didn't realize it would bother you..."

"_Everything_ about you bothers me, Potter..." she said through gritted teeth.

"That's harsh, Evans... Surely not _everything_? My good-looks? My charming smile? I bet they don't bother you so much..."

"Your arrogance? Your self-confidence?"

"My witty remarks? My intelligence?"

"Please, witty? I don't think so! You are just _so_ conceited!" she scoffed.

"Well, at least I don't think myself better than everyone else just because I choose the hardest subjects in the year!" he threw back at her.

"What?" she looked confused.

"W-well, I saw you had Potions, Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts and whatever else on your timetable, and-"

"And you thought I was choosing them just to show off?" she asked, a look of incredulity in her eyes. When he didn't answer, she cried out. "You are the limit, Potter! You've got no idea why I'm taking those subjects, so just shut your big mouth up before you catch some flies!"

"Evans! Look, I was only asking if you wanted to be an Auror, out of curiosity, and you suddenly started shouting at me..."

"Why would I want to be an Auror?" she shouted, looking slightly confused.

"I don't know, you're just taking the same subjects as-"

"As who?"

"As me!"

Lily looked stricken. "What? Oh, god, no, you're taking all the same subjects as me?"

"I'm only taking the ones I need to become an Auror, you know..."

"Shit" she muttered. "Well, next time you want to ask someone something, just make sure you don't creep up on them, ok?" And with that, she stormed off towards where her friends sat.

"Umm, Lily, are you all right?" Dorcas asked.

"Yeah, it's just that git Potter getting on my nerves..."

"Well, to be fair, he was only trying to- Ow!" she winced, as Dorcas kicked her under the table.

"He's just so annoying, you know? So conceited, so sure of himself... He thinks he owns the castle! He's so irritating... I just wish he'd leave me alone, stop creeping up behind me, trying to talk to me at every chance he gets! Why does he even do that? Why me? And Avril, why are you laughing?" she added as she noticed her friend giggling.

"It's just... Well, he fancies you like crazy, Lily!"

Lily glared at her. "So? That doesn't give him the right to annoy me all the bloody time!"

"I'm just stating the facts! He's fancied you since 1st year."

"She's right, Lils" Robyn added. "Even _I_ noticed that..."

Lily let out a huff, still angry. Her friends were right: it did seem like Potter had a crush on her.

* * *

And he wasn't the only one. From the Slytherin table, Severus had noticed the argument between Lily and Potter. Lily seemed angry at him for something, but Severus could only catch the words "Auror" and "subjects".

What? Was Lily thinking of becoming an Auror, like Potter? He hoped not... Severus himself had chosen Potions, Transfiguration, Charms, Herblogy, and Defence Against the Dark Arts. These subjects would hopefully help him towards his goal of becoming a Potion experimentalist. He thought Lily would probably choose those ones too, because they were the ones she was best at.

He was looking forward to a Potions class with her: it might be a good chance to talk, he could try and say sorry again...

He missed her so much, it was painful. It was the everyday thing he missed: chatting at breakfast, walking to class together, studying in the library... And those amazing Potions classes, those were what he missed the most. They would pair up together to to the tasks: they were the best in the class by far.

At least that was one thing that Potter would never be better at.

* * *

**Reviews would make me really happy *hint, hint***


	5. A Tale of Spare Quills and Fights

**A/N: wow, so many people have read the previous chapters! Again, thank you guys :)**

Lily looked at her time-table once more. She had Transfiguration first lesson, with the Slytherins. It was bad luck, for she would have to be enduring their stares at her and other Muggleborns during the lesson. It wasn't anything to be ashamed of, but at the same time... It got weary after a while.

When Avril finally finished her chocolate croissant, they all made their way up towards Classroom 5, where they would be taking the first lesson of the day.

They were walking down the corridor, when they suddenly heard a voice behind them. "Hi, girls! I was trying to catch you up..." Angeline explained. "I was wondering where Classroom 5 was. Gilderoy Lockhart offered to show me the way-"

"I bet he did" Robyn muttered. It was common knowledge that Lockhart was a shameless flirt, even though he was only in 3rd year.

"What did you say, Robyn? I didn't quite catch it..." Angeline asked, full of concern.

"Oh, nothing." Robyn answered airily.

"Well, as I was saying, Gilderoy offered to show me where the classroom was, but I preferred to go with you girls..."

They finally reached Classroom 5, where most of the Gryffindors and Slytherins were already gathered.

James and Sirius were leaning against the corridor wall (trying to look cool, in Lily's opinion), while Remus had his head in a book. Peter was also attempting to "look cool", but not quite managing the effect of the other two.

On the far end, the Slytherins were also hanging around. She was unhappy to see Sev with a bunch of the worst Slytherins of the year (Antonin Dolohov, Bellatrix Black, the Lestrange twins, and Jessica Parkinson, who was standing rather close to Severus, whispering something in his ear). Once again, she reminded herself it was none of her business.

Professor McGonagall soon arrived, and opened the classroom. They all walked in, and sat down in their new places. Lily next to Avril, and Robyn with Dorcas. Angeline sat near them; Evan Rosier being quick to fill the empty space next to her.

"Good morning, class. Now, I assume you are all aware that your NEWTs will be coming up soon..."

"Soon?" Sirius whispered. "There's two years yet!"

"I am aware you take your NEWT examinations in two years time, Mr. Black, but these examinations will determine your future. I hope everyone realizes that they should spend all the time they have preparing for them." She gazed around, then swished her wand at the blackboard. Chalk-written words began to appear. "Now, if you could all please take note."

The whole class scrabbled around for quills, ink, and a clean parchment. Lily had already placed them on her desk, and began writing quickly.

"Hey, Sirius, you got a spare quill?" James' voice ran through the classroom, only loud enough for the students to hear.

"Nah, I've only got one. Ask Remus, he's usually got everything school-related"

"Remus, have you got a spare quill?" he asked again.

"Nope... Maybe Peter's got one."

"Peter, have you got a...?"

There was a loud _shush _from somewhere in the class. James looked up and mouthed "Sorry!", then turned back to Peter.

"No, sorry... I could ask around though..." his friend answered.

"It's ok... Evans, have you got a spare quill?" he asked, slightly louder so that Lily could hear him.

Lily sighed. "Yes, but shut up, will you? You're getting on people's nerves." She dived into her bag, and fished out a bright peacock. It was the one she usually kept for best, but anything to shut James Potter up.

She passed it to him silently, and carried on taking note.

"Thanks, Evans! Nice quill, by the way... Peacock?"

She nodded silently.

"Nice. Classy." He looked at the blackboard and saw how much he had to copy. "Evans, do we really have to write down all that?"

She nodded again, praying for him to shut up.

"Blimey, my hand will drop off!"

There was another _shush, _this time from more than one person.

"Evans, how much-"

"Just shut up!" Lily half-shouted at him.

Professor McGonagall heard her, and peered in their direction. "Could we have a bit of silence, please?"

"Sorry, Professor." Lily and James said at exactly the same time. She scowled at him, but he merely grinned.

"So, Evans" he continued, in a slightly lower voice, "how much have you copied?"

"Almost all of it, but could you leave me to copy the rest in peace?"

"Okay, okay, I was only asking..."

"Yes, you were only asking, but you've been "only asking" for half the class. So, please, just-"

"Ms. Evans, could you please explain why you are still talking?" McGonagall inquired.

Lily blushed. "I'm sorry, Professor. I was just..." The whole class held their breath, waiting for her to accuse James. "I was just asking for a spare quill. I forgot mine." She surreptitiously pushed hers onto the floor, and pushed it out of sight with her foot.

"Indeed. Well, could someone please lend Ms. Evans a quill, so we can continue with our class in silence?"

Avril picked Lily's quill of the floor, and passed it to her, grinning. "Yeah, here, Lily. I'll lend you mine."

"Thank you, Ms. Diggory. Now, please continue with your copying."

They all returned to their parchments, and for a few minutes, the only sound in the room was the scratching of quills. Then-

"That was probably my fault, Evans."

"Yes, actually. I'm glad you realize that." she answered quietly.

"If it's any consolation, I didn't mean to get you into trouble..."

"Whatever, Potter. Just leave me alone, okay? Before you get me into any more trouble."

He looked slightly wounded, and opened his mouth to try again. He then saw the look of annoyance in Lily's eyes, and quickly looked away.

Was it possible to adore someone so much? And for them to detest you in almost the same way? It seemed unfair: the harder he tried (whether by flirting, or simply trying to make conversation), the more she seemed to hate him. It was the look in her eyes that hurt him the most. That look that seemed to say he was the person she least wanted to talk to in the world. If there was _anything_ he could do to change that look, then he would, without a doubt.

And he was determined that this year, he would.

* * *

When Transfiguration class was finally over, Lily angry. She got up and left the class, not even bothering to wait for her friends.

They finally caught up with her halfway down the corridor.

"Hey, Lils, you could have waited for us!" Dorcas exclaimed.

"I didn't want to hang around..."

"Why not?" Avril asked, already knowing the answer. She knew her friend better than anyone, and realized she was in the mood for a rant. Sometimes it was just better for Lily to get it off her shoulders.

""Why not?" Are you really asking me that question, Av? Well, I'll tell you why not! Because of that twat Potter! He's so ANNOYING, so bloody annoying... I feel like punching him sometimes! I mean, couldn't he have just not copied the theory? It's not like he's going to study it anyway! He's such a lazy git, he's never worked hard in his life. He just doesn't know how to behave in a classroom! I bet he's been pampered all his life, had everything done for him..." she came to a stop, and took a deep breath.

"Do you feel better now you've said it?" Avril asked her.

"Yup" her friend responded, a grin beginning to appear on her face.

But it wasn't just her friends who had caught up with her by then.

"I always knew people of her kind would make trouble..." she heard as her year of Slytherins passed them by.

"What did you just say to my friend?" Avril demanded.

The person who had commented turned round. It was Theodore Nott, with Dolohov, Rosier, and and the Lestrange twins behind him. "I said" he enunciated clearly, "I always knew people of her kind would be quick to cause problems. They always do."

"And what do you mean by "people of her kind"? People with a higher IQ than you? Well, that's not difficult, Nott..."

A crowd had begun to gather in the corridor, people stretching their necks to see what was happening. When they heard Avril's response, a few of them laughed. He went red, and his eyes narrowed.

"Actually, I meant _Mudbloods_ like her." The crowd gasped. "If there weren't people like her around, then Lord Voldemort wouldn't have to kill so many-"

"Oh, are we calling him a Lord now?" Sirius' voice interrupted. He, James, Remus and Peter had just arrived at the scene. "I didn't know he was of noble descent. Did you, James?"

"That's funny, Black. I would have thought, with your family history, you would have more respect for the Dark Lord" Dolohov drawled.

Sirius scowled. He hated being reminded of his family, especially by people like Antonin Dolohov, who came from a similar background. "My family is none of your business, scumbag."

"Oh, is it not? The family of one of my best mates is usually my business..." Sirius' eyes narrowed, confusion flitting across his face only for a second. He then realized Dolohov was speaking of his brother, Regulus, who had been sorted into Slytherin. He knew what his brother was like, but being reminded of it was more than he could take.

"Well, my brother was always a good-for-nothing, lousy-"

"I wasn't the one who left home at the age of thirteen!" Regulus came forward through the crowd, a look of pure hatred on his face. He stood next to Rosier and Dolohov.

"I have more self-respect than to hang around a house where I'm not welcome, dear brother."

"Maybe if you'd kept your fat mouth shut, and stopped going on about Muggle's rights or god-knows-what, you might still be welcome! But you always were a stubborn git!"

"You take that back, Regulus," Sirius said, drawing his wand. James did the same right next to him.

"It's true! You wouldn't believe how ashamed our parents were, having to explain to the whole family that their son is a Mudblood-lover! I can't believe how you even speak to filth like that red-head over there!" with that he pointed a finger at Lily.

Four wands slashed through the air at the same time: there was a sudden flash of light, and a crash as people fell backwards. Lily felt herself crashing against a wall, and closed her eyes as she fell. When she opened them again, the corridor was filled with dense blue smoke. Everyone was standing up around her, and Robyn gave her a hand, helping her up. Through the irritated mutter of the crowded corridor, she heard loud thuds, and the scrabbling of hands.

She looked around, and spotted Sirius, James, Regulus and Dolohov all on the floor, punching and scratching each other.

"Protego!" she cried. The shield was so strong that all four boys were thrown backwards.

"Evans! He was insulting you!" James shouted. Lily noticed he had a large gash across his cheek, already starting to bleed.

"Oh, and that gives you the right to just attack him, does it?" she answered hotly.

"No, it does not," Professor McGonagall answered as she arrived at the scene. "Now could Mr. Potter, Mr. Dolohov, both Mr. Blacks, and Ms. Evans please accompany me to my office? I don't want another shouting match in the middle of the corridor. Mr. Lupin, please make sure the rest of the students move along." She moved briskly down the corridor, expecting the students she had called out to follow her immediately.

They walked behind her. Lily was worried: it was the first time she had got into trouble in all of her school life, and therefore new experience. Not a particularly pleasant one, either.

They reached McGonagall's office, and they all filed in. "Sit down," the professor indicated curtly. They did as she said, taking seat in front of her desk.

"Now, I hope you realize you are in serious trouble. Fighting in the corridors, and especially using magic, is not allowed. What I want to know is who started the fight?" She looked around expectantly. Nobody answered. "Ms. Evans? Would you care to answer my question?"

Lily squirmed uncomfortably in her seat. "I... well, Professor..."

"Yes?"

"I don't really know, to be honest. It was rather confusing."

James stared at her. To him, it was obvious the Slytherins had started the fight, by insulting Lily.

Sirius also stared at her, feeling that it had been Regulus' fault. If he hadn't started jibing him about his family...

Regulus, on the other hand, felt it was his brother had started it all, by calling him a "good-for-nothing, lousy-"...

Antonin Dolohov knew it was that disgusting Mudblood's fault. Her kind were always causing trouble, it was their fault that the magic community was in the state it was... All those killings, the murder of families, it was all their fault...

And Lily, well, she didn't really know whose fault it was. Obviously, Nott and Dolohov shouldn't have started insulting her the way they did, but at the same time James and Sirius were the first to draw their wands... Although maybe Sirius had more reason to, with his brother going on about their family... But James, he had only been sticking up for her: as if she couldn't defend herself! He was just so irritating...

"So, no, Professor" Lily continued, "I don't know who started the fight."

McGonagall surveyed the scene. The boys, most of them with bruises and cuts. The worst off was probably Regulus, for he had a rip across his shoulder that was bleeding rather a lot.

"Indeed, Ms. Evans... I think, under the circumstances, it would be fair if you all served a detention. However, it would probably be wise to have the Gryffindors and Slytherins with separate detentions, we don't want any more fights... So, Mr. Dolohov and Mr. Black, you tomorrow at 5 o'clock, and Mr. Potter, Mr. Black and Ms. Evans, you shall serve it on Wednesday, also at 5 o'clock. I shall not dock off house points, in the hope that you will consider yourselves lucky, and that a petty fight like this shall not occur again. Is that completely understood?"

They all nodded, scowls on their faces.

"Good. You may return to your classes. Also, you had better clean up those cuts." She opened the door for them, and they all stepped outside.

Lily checked her time-table, and saw she had Herbology class in Greenhouse 3. She started walking briskly towards the grounds, knowing that however fast she went, she would still be at least half an hour late. She heard footsteps behind her, but didn't even bother looking back.

"Evans! Wait for us!" James shouted after her. She didn't answer.

"Go on, Evans, please wait!" Sirius added. They finally caught up with her.

"You're mad at us, aren't you? Aw, don't be, Evans... Even you must have seen it wasn't our fault..."

"Yeah, it was those Slytherin prats, always causing trouble, insulting people left-right-and-center..."

"Gits," James agreed.

Lily continued walking in silence. They left the castle, and walked across the grounds. There was a chilly breeze in the air, and you could see a thin whisp of smoke rising from Hagrid's cabin. From where they were, it was also possible to see Greenhouse 3, and all the students already in Herbology class.

"Oh, god, I'm so late..." Lily muttered, walking faster.

"Wait for us, Evans!" The boys ran after her.

"Why? Just leave me alone, we're late for class! Only I suppose you guys don't care, you're _always_ late..." she snapped, stopping to look round at them. At least they had the decency to look ashamed.

"Look, I'm sorry, Evans" James said slowly. "And it's not often I say this, but maybe we shouldn't have pulled our wands out at those Slytherins if that wasn't what you wanted."

"But they deserved it," Sirius added.

"Right, but it's none of your business! It bothers me that people insult me, and other Muggleborns, like that, but it's nothing to do with you guys! You're always in enough trouble as it is, you don't have to defend me! You're always doing that: I can cope fine on my own, thank you very much!"

"It is our business: you're a mate! And we don't let anyone mess with our mates, right Sirius?" His friend nodded.

Lily gave him a look of distaste. "I'm not your "mate", Potter."

He raised his eyebrows. "Well, you acted like a mate back there, covering up for us. You knew perfectly well that we were the first to draw our wands, and yet you didn't say anything..."

"That doesn't mean I consider you to be a friend. I just didn't want any more trouble," she said icily.

"Whatever, we're in debt to you," Sirius said. "If you ever need anything, we owe you a favor. Remember that," he finished with a wink.

"Like I'll ever need anything from you guys."

"In any case, thanks for not telling McGonagall. She probably would have given us a month's worth of detentions!" James laughed, relieved they had got off with only one.

"Whatever. Anyway, I'm going to class, you two can do what you want." That said, she entered Greenhouse 3, leaving James and Sirius outside.

They looked at each other.

"I don't feel like a Herbology lesson right now, do you?" Sirius asked.

"Nah. I say it's pointless, and we can always copy the notes off Moony," James grinned.

"Too right we can. Fancy grabbing something from the kitchen? I'm starving..."

* * *

**A/N: Please please please please please tell me what you think, ****especially**** if it's criticism!**


	6. A Tale of Avril Diggory

A short tale about Lily's best friend.

Avril was born into a big, happy family; a mother, a father, two brothers and two sisters (all older than her). They adored her. She was treated as the youngest of the family, and was of course overly-protected by her siblings.

Born with naturally blond curls, cute hazel eyes and sweet-nature: who could help but love her?

By the age of 8, all the boys at her local Muggle school wanted to go out with her. She liked that, but wasn't particularly interested in any of them.

By the age of 11, when she reached Hogwarts, she had already kissed a _lot_ of boys. She found it fun, but didn't feel anything that special.

However, on the summer of the year she was 14, she met someone who made her feel differently. He was a Muggle, handsome as the devil, and the funniest guy she had ever met. They spent most of the summer at the beach, and although she had believed love was only true in fairytales, she found out that that was not the case. Then one night, at a party, she saw him kissing another girl. Her heart shattered into a billion pieces, in a way that she had never thought possible.

* * *

Avril was sitting in Herbology, next to Robyn and Dorcas. Professor Sprout had instructed the class on how to correctly pick Gilliweed, and was lecturing about the plant's uses while they worked. But Avril wasn't really concentrating.

Instead, she was staring into space, resting her chin on her hands. She didn't notice that a few of the boys were looking in her direction, noticing how pretty she looked today, her hair pulled into a cute messy bun. But the boy she was thinking about wasn't in the greenhouse at that moment.

She could still feel that sweet sea-breeze blowing through her hair, the warm sand under her feet, and that magical touch... It still sent shivers down her spine when she thought of that beautiful summer. She had loved that boy so much, poured out her heart to him, and how had he thanked her? By ripping up her feelings, leaving them crumpled on the floor...

It still hurt to think about him. She hadn't seen him since that night at the party, had forced herself to break contact. She didn't want to speak to him (for after all, what was there to say?), only at the same time...

She wished she could go back and rip that unknown girl's head right off her shoulders! But to be fair, it wasn't her fault. It was his, that ruthless heart-breaker that she had fallen for. Shit, if she wasn't careful, she was going to start crying in middle of the lesson. And she didn't want that: any display of emotions was bad. It made her weak, and she wasn't going to be weak under _any_ circumstances.

At that moment, Lily came in through the door. She apologized to Professor Sprout, and pulled up a stool next to Avril.

"That Potter is such an idiot! Can you believe he just landed me with a detention on Wednesday? Well, not just him, Black and his brother, and Dolohov, and Nott are partly guilty, too... Av, are you even listening to me?"

Actually, Avril wasn't. She was thinking about how obvious James was to show Lily how much he liked her, defending her at the slightest chance. She also thought vaguely about how nice it would be to have someone care about you so much. Not like the stupid admirers _she_ got, who appreciated her looks but had no idea knew nothing of her personality.

If only guys weren't such idiots...

* * *

The day she saw her first love kissing another girl, she promised herself she would never, _ever_, fall in love so easily, and that from then on, it would be _her_ breaking the hearts, not the other way round.

It would take two years, a Quidditch match, and 10 really-good-Muggle-love-songs to make Avril fall in love again.


	7. A Tale of Amortentia and Bets

When Herbology was finally over, and the whole class had washed any remaining Gillyweed off their hands, Lily and her friends made their way back up to the castle.

She was weighed down by the up-coming detention on Wednesday afternoon, but decided to forget about it until the time came. No use crying over spilt milk... Even though it wasn't her who had spilt it...

Robyn was talking animatedly about a new painting she was going to start, wondering whether her parents would send her the materials she needed

"-going to need a new canvas, and at least 5 new tubes of paint... Art material is so expensive these days..." she trailed off.

"Yeah, well, you'll be able to make up for it when you're a famous artist, and earning millions. Make sure you invite us to your exhibitions, though!" Dorcas laughed.

Robyn blushed. In truth, she didn't paint for money (although she had sold a few paintings in the past). She enjoyed making art more than anything else, it de-stressed her when she got nervous, calmed her down. Her friends might laugh, but at least she knew they meant nothing by it.

"So, what lesson have we got now?" Avril asked.

"Um, give me a sec, I'll have a look at the time-table..." Lily answered, scrabbling around in her bag. She found the slip of paper, glanced at it, and groaned.

"Potions. With the Slytherins. Again.", she said.

"Ah well, it could be worse... At least we don't have History of Magic this year..."

They trailed through busy corridors, and down a lot of flights of stairs, before finally reaching the dungeons.

To Lily, the place gave her mixed feelings. However dark, gloomy and damp it seemed, the dungeons were actually where her favorite lessons took place. She had spent great times there, discovering and exploring her passion for Potions, and enjoying herself more than she liked to admit. She thought Professor Slughorn was a great teacher; his classes were really interesting.

On the other hand, it also reminded her of all the times she had paired up with Severus, and it wasn't something she particularly wanted to remember.

Heavy footsteps echoed down the corridor. A large, round man with decreasing straw-like hair walked towards them. He greeted them with the usual contented smile, opening the classroom door with a flick of his wand.

The class took their seats. Lily usually sat next to Severus, but this time she chose a chair next to Avril. Severus, on the other hand, sat next to Jessica Parkinson.

The professor walked over to his desk at the front of the classroom. Placed on it was a large cauldron: the liquid inside it had a pretty mother-of-pearl sheen to it, and wisps of steam were spiralling upwards from it. Lily gasped slightly as she recognized the potion.

"What?" Dorcas inquired.

"Look at that potion on Slughorn's table!"

"What about it?" Avril asked, joining the conversation.

"Don't you know what it is?" She looked at her friends confused faces. "It's Amortentia!" She expected them to react, excited, but they only frowned.

"Amortentia is only the most powerful love potion ever. Loads of wizards have tried to make one more powerful, but have failed with really disastrous consequences. Like, this Potioneer called Hector Dagworth-Granger, he mixed up a potion that everyone thought would work. What actually happened was that whoever took the potion would fall in love with the first thing they saw after taking it. Even things like a wardrobe or the sky!"

"And how exactly do you know all this?" Avril asked, slightly amused. She was used to her friend spouting apparently random information about Potions.

"It's in A Complete History of Potion Making, of course! I got it out of the library last year."

"Well, good morning!" Professor Slughorn called out. "Welcome to another year back in my class. Before we start brewing, I want to ask you a question. Does anybody know what potion this is?" he asked, indicating the cauldron that sat before him.

Two hands shot up at exactly the same time.

"Yes, Mr. Snape?"

Severus blushed, having seen Lily's hand up in the air too. "No, it's... it's ok, I think Lily put her hand up first..."

"Mmm, very chivalrous of you... So, Ms. Evans, would you like to answer the question?"

She doubted for a moment, then said "It's Amortentia, sir, the most powerful love potion known yet. It's easily recognized by its mother-of-pearl sheen, and its characteristic spirals of smoke. Also, it smells differently to whoever gets near it. Of course, it doesn't create real love, just a sensation of it. Infatuation, if you like."

"Thank you, Ms. Evans, and 10 well-deserved points to Gryffindor." A couple of Slytherins groaned. "Now, we are going to begin mixing this potion, but before that, I want you to all step up towards the table, carefully, so as not to knock the cauldron, and announce what you smell. This might help you get an idea of the potion."

Everyone stood up and made their way towards the professor's desk. The first to put her nose in was Hufflepuff Gwegnog Jones. She took a deep breath, inhaled deeply, and then smiled.

"It smells like broomstick wax, Pumpkin Pasties and pine needles." She returned to her seat, and the next person repeated the process.

"Black currant, roses, and the lasagna my dad makes on Sundays."

"Cocoa-Pops, ripe cherries and um... it might be petrol?"

"New marker pens, lavender, rosemary, and soap."

When Avril's turn came, she doubted for a few seconds. "I think... I think it's sea breeze, mostly... maybe some honey?"

"Jasmine, mint toothpaste, and new car smell, sir."

"Roast beef, wood shavings... and I'm not sure, but I think I can smell glue in there too..."

Lily stepped up towards it, breathing in the pleasant smells. Mmmm... "Well, there's treacle tart, and cinnamon, old books, and something else... sir, I'm not really sure what it is, but I might have smelled it in Gryffindor common room..."

Robyn stepped up behind her as she returned to her seat. "It smells like new paint, hot chocolate, and oak wood."

"Cold coffee, and er... cat-smell?"

James bounded up towards the table, took a deep sniff of it and sighed. "Blimey, that smells good, Professor... Let's see: freshly-picked apples, broomstick handle, and..." He glanced and grinned towards Lily. "... and something else, but I'm not really sure what it is..."

"Mango, and the smell of earth after rain."

Angeline giggled. "Blueberries, new clothes and still-wet nail varnish."

Severus was the last to inhale. He stood still for a moment, then said "It smells like fast rivers, the Potions ingredients cupboard, and some sort of flower." Another glance at Lily.

"Well, that was very interesting, class! Now, seeing as we won't have time to mix the potion today, I want you all to write out a 3 page essay about Amortentia for the next lesson, which I believe is on Wednesday. The essay has to include ingredients, uses, pros & cons... you know how it goes."

The class ended, and all four girls walked down the corridor.

"Let's get out of here, I hate being crammed in... Those dungeons are so claustrophobic..." Avril grumbled.

"That was a really interesting experience, don't you think?" Lily asked around. "I, for one, was quite curious about what Amortentia would smell like to me, and-"

"By the way, what was that smell you didn't want to say? The one from the Common Room?"

"I really don't know..." Lily frowned. "It smelt good, but I'm not sure what it might have been... I know if I smell it again, I'll recognize it..."

"And I liked Dorcas'!" her friend laughed. "What was it, roast beef and glue? What does glue even smell like, Dorc?"

"Oh, I don't know, it was what it smelled like!" she replied, sticking her tongue out at Avril.

"The worst one was probably Angeline's... New clothes and nail varnish! Not at all superficial..." Robyn sniggered.

They all laughed, feeling only slightly guilty. It was their first day, but Angeline had already filled her dressing table with what looked like a whole cosmetics shop, and her wardrobe was completely packed.

"Ah, well... if it's what she likes, it's not her fault... Anyway, where are we heading?"

"Charms, Classroom 99, with the Ravenclaws." Lily recited.

"Oh, okay. Charms isn't so bad..."

As they made their way towards the lesson, Lily saw a copy of the Daily Prophet lying on the floor.

"Ugh, I wish people wouldn't leave litter everywhere," she muttered, going to pick it up. She was about to throw it in a nearby waste-paper basket when she noticed the day's headlines.

""_Jonas Fortescue, owner of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, was found dead in his home this morning by_-" Oh, god, that's Alice's dad!" Lily cried out. Alice Fortescue was the Head Girl, along with Frank Longbottom who was Head Boy. She was a sweet-natured girl, and Lily had been quite good friends with her over the past few years. They had spent a sunny afternoon the previous summer doing their homework in the ice-cream parlour. Mr. Fortescue had beamed at them, saying how proud he was that his daughter was Head Girl, embarrassing her.

Lily felt her eyes prickling as her friends looked over her shoulder at the newspaper.

""_Was found dead in his home this morning by a friend who went to visit. The Dark Mark was visible over their house, but no one had dared to go in. It seems the terrorist band who call themselves the Death Eaters has reaped yet another victim."_" Dorcas read. "And then it says that Mr. Fortescue was half-blood, which is probably why they killed him... How can they do things like this?"

"And how does the Ministry let them get away with it?" Robyn exclaimed.

"Poor Alice, though... she must have heard already... I hate to think how she must be feeling right now..." Lily sighed.

"I know..." Avril gave Lily a hug, seeing her sad. Lily was a very empathic person, everyone knew that, and she felt it strongly when bad things happened to her friends.

They walked slowly towards their Charms lesson, which had already started. They went in quietly, apologized for being late, and sat down in their seats. Professor Flitwick was explaining the wand movements to correctly change vinegar into wine, but Lily couldn't concentrate.

It was happening all over the place, people getting dragged off. You read about it in the newspaper, you could even see it on Muggle TV... But when it was someone you knew, it all became a lot more real. She could still remember that day with Alice, her dad giving them free ice-creams every half an hour. She couldn't quite imagine how that kind, smiley man was just... gone. Alice would never be able to speak to her father again.

When the class ended, Lily went up to the Gryffindor dormitories. She went up to the Head Girl's private one, and knocked on the door. A faint voice mumbled "Come in."

Lily slowly opened the door. A young girl, only a year older than Lily, was sitting on the edge of her bed. Her light brown hair was sticking up in every direction, as if she had been running her hands through it repeatedly. Her blue eyes were tinged with red, and there were tear-lines down her cheeks. Beside her, half her clothes were packed into a trunk, still open.

"Hi, Lily," she said.

"Hey, Alice. I heard about your dad... I really can't tell you how sorry I am..."

"Yeah," Alice whispered sadly. "Me neither."

Lily didn't know what to say, so she simply sat down next to her. "I remember... you know, that day last summer... I went round to your place, and we did that essay for Transfiguration, and your dad said "I always knew my Al had it in her to become Head Girl. When she was only-"

""Four years old, she was already bossing he brother Florean around, would you believe it?"" Alice smiled sadly. "Yeah, 'course I remember..."

"It was a good day, that..."

They fell into silence, Lily remembering that day, and Alice remembering all the other good days with her dad, right from when she was little up until the last time she saw him, waving her off at Platform 9 & ¾. There were good memories, happy ones, sad ones, and all of them were filled with her dad's smiles.

"Thanks, Lily," she whispered.

"What for? I didn't do anything..." the other girl said.

"For remembering. He would have liked that."

They smiled at each other. After a moment, Lily gestured around her, at the clothes spread over her bed, half packed into the trunk.

"So, you're leaving?"

"Yeah," Alice nodded. "I'm going back for a week or two. I think my mum probably needs me... and there's the... the funeral," her voice cracked slightly.

"I'm sorry, Al. This shouldn't be happening to you..."

Alice looked at her. "This shouldn't be happening to anyone, Lily. Do you know why the Death Eaters k-illed him?"

"No, it didn't really say in the Prophet, just that he was half-blood..."

"Yes, that, and the fact that he received a letter from Voldemort, asking him to join his side!" Alice said angrily.

"What?" Lily's eyes widened in shock. "Really?"

"Yeah, my dad is... was a powerful wizard, you know. He sold ice-creams because he enjoyed it, but he was actually proposed as the Minister for Magic a while ago..."

Lily was surprised. Alice's dad had just seemed so... normal, and peaceful. She hadn't realized that things like this were going on...

"Anyway, Al, I'd better get going... sorry, it's just I've got to get to Defence Against the Dark Arts..."

"It's ok... I'll see you in about two weeks anyway..."

"I wish I could do something to make you feel better..." she worried.

"You'd better get to class, or you'll be late, go on."

"See you soon, and if you want someone to talk to, just remember I'm here for you, okay?"

"Get going! I'll be fine..."

With that, Lily left. As soon as she was out of the room, she started running. She was going to be late if not, and it was her first Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson of the year, with a new teacher.

Back in the dormitory, Alice smiled sadly. It was good to have people like Lily around: kind, caring, people who knew what to say at exactly the right time. It wouldn't be surprising if she was chosen as the next Head Girl when she herself left next year.

She lay back on the bed, and felt the waves of pain and memories wash over her again. However much she had assured Lily, at that moment she was anything but fine.

* * *

Lily dashed round the corner and finally reached Classroom 31. The Gryffindors and Slytherins were once again gathered around the door. She breathed out in relief: at least they hadn't gone into class yet.

"Lily! We're over here!" Dorcas called out to her. Her friends were waiting at the other end of the hallway. As she made her way over to them, walking past a group of Slytherins, she suddenly tripped over something and fell forward. She grabbed whatever she could to stop herself crashing to the floor, and regained her balance.

She looked at the Slytherins, who were laughing loudly. It was obvious that one of them had tried to trip her up on purpose. A second later, she realized that she was still holding onto something, looked at what she had grabbed, and blushed. It just so happened it was Sev's arm she had grasped. She quickly let go of him, and they both blushed even redder.

"Um, I... I didn't... sorry, anyway," Lily mumbled.

"No, it's... it's okay, Lily." The way he said her name made her look at him. His dark eyes seemed to melt as they locked onto her sparkling green ones. The corners of his mouth pulled up in a slight smile, and she responded with the same. For a split second, it was as if everything was back to normal, they could be friends again. But then Severus' eyes clouded over, ruining the moment. "Lily... I just wanted to say I'm so-"

"Don't bother, Sev. You've already apologized enough, but it still won't change what you said to me." With a final glance at him, she moved towards her friends.

"Okay?" Robyn asked her.

"Yeah, it was nothing, I didn't even fall over..."

"Actually, I was asking about Alice... We figured you probably went to speak to her, right?"

Lily sighed. "Oh, right, yeah... I don't really know what to say... Right now, she's pretty messed up about it. But with time, I think she'll be alright. She's strong, Alice."

"She'll have to be. It must be hard, losing someone so suddenly, and in that way..."

"Yeah..."

Silence fell on the four girls, all of them thinking about Death Eaters, and the war that was surely close to breaking out. It seemed like only a matter of time...

"Anyway, on a lighter topic" Avril piped up, "do any of you know who's going to be teaching us Defence Against the Dark Arts this year?"

Meryl Jones had taken pregnancy leave that year, so someone had to take her place. It was strange, but for some reason no Defence teacher ever seemed to be able to keep their post for more than a year.

"No idea," Lily answered.

"I hope they're nice, though. Professor Jones was," Dorcas smiled.

"Yeah, she was, but you only liked her because she was a Chudley Cannons fan!" Robyn laughed.

"Oy, not just because of that! She was a good teacher, too..."

"That's true, actually... I'm glad we had her last year, she prepared us well for our OWLs," Lily remembered.

Suddenly, the door of the class opened wide with a loud thud. The students looked around at each other, no really sure what to do: no one had opened the door, and the teacher was nowhere to be seen.

"Well, come in then! Don't be shy!" A voice came from the inside of the classroom.

James and Sirius were the first to step forward, and the rest of them followed. Lily looked round the class, but there was no one there.

"Sit down, sit down!" a voice came from the front of the class. A few people jumped in shock, because whoever was speaking still wasn't showing themselves. All the same, that voice had a certain ring of authority to it, so they did as they were told, and some of them put their books on the table. There was a slight chuckle ringing through the air.

"You definitely won't be needing those today... or any day, really..." A book fell on the floor. Then the one from the desk next to it, then the one of Peter Pettigrew's desk. He let out a whimper of fright, and James and Sirius laughed.

"Enough!" the voice stated loudly. The class fell silent.

Then, with no warning, a figure began to materialize behind the desk. Slowly, then all at once, a tall man appeared before them. That was the first thing anyone noticed about him, his height. And then they realized (as Avril put it later), his absolutely ravishing looks. He was perfectly tanned, with a chiseled jaw and dark hair. He was young, too: not a day past 21.

"Whoa, dramatic..." Avril whispered sarcastically.

"And that, class" their new teacher stated, "is how to perform a Disillusionment Charm."

A few people whooped and clapped, impressed by the new teacher.

"Now, to business," he announced with a smile. "My full name is Alexander Bekane, the school formalities say you should call me Professor, I say you should call me however you want. Except swear-words, you may only use those when you are doing your homework and I am not there to hear you." He walked up and down the aisles of desks as he spoke. "During this class I will attempt to instruct you in everything you need to know about how to defend yourself against the Dark Arts. You will not need your books: simply your wands and your brains. Any questions?"

"No, I didn't think so," he continued quickly. "Today we'll begin with Disillusionment Charms. Now, does anyone know the correct wand-movement to cast a-" He looked at James, who had already raised her hand. "Yes, Mr...?"

"James Potter, but I also say you should call me whatever you want," he grinned as the class laughed.

Alex Bekane smiled back at him. "Indeed. So, could you please tell me the wand-movement you would apply to cast this spell?"

"Yup. If you cast it on yourself, you kind of go like this," he explained, twisting his wand around him as if he were tying himself up with a rope. "And if you do it on someone else you tap them on the head. Like this," he gestured, tapping Sirius on the head, harder than was necessary.

"Ouch!" his friend complained, as Remus and Peter laughed.

"Thank you, James, and 10 points to...?"

"Gryffindor."

"10 points to Gryffindor, yes indeed. There is no incantation for this spell, so it's quite tricky. Has anyone in this class succeeded in performing a non-verbal spell yet?"

About half of the class' hands were raised, Lily's amongst them.

"Okay... So, I want you to pair up and perform this spell on each other, by turns. One person who has has managed a non-verbal with one who hasn't. Get Disillusioning! By the end of the class I don't want to be able to see any of you, got it? Whoever I can still set my eyes on has to write me a 10 page essay on the uses of this charm. Time starts... now!"

Lily looked around. Her friends had all raised their hands, and Angeline had too... She noticed Severus looking hopefully in her direction. His hand hadn't been up. Oh, please, no... Anyone but Sev... Her eyes scanned the classroom again, and fell on Sirius Black, who was grinning at her.

"What's up, Lily-flower? Want to pair up with me?" he suggested.

"Please..." she implored, glancing over at Severus. He appeared to be rather disappointed.

"Still haven't made up with him?"

"What?" she asked, looking back at her partner.

"You still haven't made up with old Snivellus? Mind you, I don't blame you... He did call you a Mudblood after all..."

She scowled at him. "No I haven't, but in any case it's none of your business. Why do you and Potter always go poking your noses into my life?"

Sirius raised his hands in a sign of surrender. "I was just agreeing with the fact that you and No-Shampoo aren't friends anymore, that's all! And anyway, James has his reasons..."

"Oh? And what would they be?

Sirius sighed theatrically. "Top secret, Lily-flower. Sorry."

She scowled again. "Oh, whatever, I don't care. In any case, we'd better get on with this spell, it looks rather difficult..." All around them, the rest of the students were still struggling to achieve invisibility. As far as she could see, no one had managed it yet.

"So, you start then, Black."

Lily stood still, waiting for the tap on the head from her partner. She felt the wand touch her head, but nothing else. She was about to hold her hand out to see if she was still visible, but obviously wasn't from the look of dismay on Sirius' face.

"Ah well... Your turn, Lily... I've never even tried these non-verbal spells..."

"Well, try concentrating. That's the key to this kind of spell. You have to concentrate really hard, focus on what you want precisely. Try again, if you want," she proposed.

"Okay then..." His eyes focused on Lily's head, and he was almost not breathing as he concentrated hard. He raised his wand, and tapped her on the head again. This time, she felt a cold wave spreading from where Sirius' wand had touched her head. He gasped, eyes widening.

"What? Did it work?" Lily asked excitedly.

"Umm... nearly. Look at your hand."

She did as he said, and laughed. Her whole arm was half invisible: the spell had only worked in patches, so she there were bits of her visible, and other bits not seen at all.

Sirius grinned at her. "Rather suits you, this part-invisibility thing, Lily-flower! Anyway, it worked better this time, right? Can I try again?"

"Yeah, no problem..." she smiled. He tapped her head for the third time, and on this occasion Lily felt as if an egg had been cracked on it.

"Hey, it worked!" Sirius yelled, a massive grin on his face. And it had: her whole body now looked exactly like the background behind it. "Wow, what you said about concentrating really helped!"

Lily laughed some more. It was a nice feeling, having encouraged someone like that. Maybe she should consider being a teacher...

"Thanks, Lily-Flower!" Sirius beamed at her.

"No problem. Can I try now?"

"Of course, but I can't see you now! So try not to poke my eye out with your wand, 'kay?" he joked.

She took a deep breath, concentrating hard. She pointed her wand at Sirius' head, and tapped it lightly. Instantly, he became invisible.

"Whoa, that felt weird! As if someone had smashed an egg on my head, and the yolk was seeping down my back... Creepy... Anyway, did it work?"

"Yeah," Lily smiled again.

"Good work!" Mr. Bekane exclaimed, walking over to them. "This is the first team to manage the Disillusioning! So, 10 points to... what house are you guys in?"

"Both in Gryffindor," Sirius stated proudly.

"So 10 more points to Gryffindor! Oh, the counter-course is exactly the same thing, tap each other on the head, but wait 'till the others have finished. Everyone else, keep on trying! Time is ticking on..."

The rest of the class sped up, getting nervous. After a few minutes, James' laughter rang loud and clear through the classroom. He had been paired up with Peter, who was now nowhere to be seen.

Gradually, people began disappearing one by one, until finally the only person you could see was Professor Bekane. It was an amusing scene: if anyone had walked in at that moment, they would have found a teacher in an apparently empty classroom, speaking to himself.

"Brilliant work, everyone. You can perform the counter-spell now."

Slowly, people began appearing again.

"I'm very glad you managed that, because I really didn't fancy correcting 10-page essays... Anyway, the lesson's finished, you can all go now! I believe our next class is on Wednesday, is it not? I shall see you all on Wednesday, then!"

They left the Classroom, all of them chatting excitedly. Even the Slytherins seemed more upbeat than usual.

"Wow, that was a class and a half!" Dorcas noted.

"I know, right? The way he just appeared... I half-expected him to be some sort of ghost or something..."

"And he's just so fit!" Angeline added, joining them. "Those gorgeous tanned arms..."

"He's a teacher, Angeline! You're not meant to talk like that about teachers..."

"So? I mean, he's not like other teachers, is he... He's not old... 20? 21?"

"Probably, but he's still a teacher..."

"I know that, but there's no laws against it after I've graduated, right?" Angeline added with a wink.

"What? You're kidding me! You really want to get together with our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher? Like he'd ever even consider a student..." Robyn scoffed.

"You're just jealous, because there's more chance he'll look at me than at you."

"Please, at least I don't have to wear a ton of makeup for guys to notice me..." Robyn retorted.

"Yeah, because guys don't notice you. Like, ever," Angeline sneered.

"Oy, you-"

"Okay, I think you should both calm down right now..." Lily interrupted. "I mean, really, Angeline, that was a bit insulting. And Robyn, maybe you shouldn't have laughed at her for wanting to get together with Professor Bekane."

"Yeah, I mean, who can blame her? He is rather hot... And compared to all the immature prats round here..." Avril added, wrinkling up her nose as a couple of 5th years went past, nudging each other as they noticed Avril.

"My point exactly. You're allowed to hope, right?" Although, to be perfectly honest, Lily didn't really think there would be much chance of Angeline ever getting together with the Professor. He seemed a too grown-up for them, while still seeming young. He probably had loads of girls his age hanging on his every word, and was way out of their league. Even if Angeline was one of the best-looking girls in the school.

"You don't think he'll like me, do you?" Angeline asked hotly, looking around at them all. They didn't quite meet her glare, Robyn actually shaking her head at her. "Well, I'm going to prove you all wrong. What's the bet that at the end of the year he will have changed his mind about that daft no-teacher/student policy?"

"You have got to be kidding me..." Dorcas muttered.

"50 galleons," Robyn announced with a smile.

"What? Rob, are you crazy?" her friends yelled.

"You don't think she'll actually manage it, do you?" she laughed.

"Well... I don't know, but 50 galleons is a small fortune... what if you lose?" Lily asked her.

"I won't," she said, sounding completely sure of herself.

"Well, we have a deal then, Ms. Viner," Angeline smirked. They shook hands, glaring into each others eyes.

"You are so going to owe me that money by the end of the year..." Robyn growled.

"No way. Taking into account that Alexander Bekane is a young guy, that I'm only about 4 or 5 years younger than him, and the fact that I'm drop-dead gorgeous..." she boasted airily, "...there's absolutely no chance of you winning."

"So modest, Angeline..." Robyn noted.

"Well, at least-"

"God, don't start again..." Lily sighed. It was going to be a tense school year with these two constantly at each other's throats.

* * *

**A/N: I really enjoyed writing this chapter!**


	8. A Tale of New Beginning

It had been an eventful first day, Lily mused as they all made their way down to lunch. A detention, meeting the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and now this crazy bet Robyn and Angeline had staked.

Mind you, it was good to be back, she thought as she and her friends sat down to eat. At least she didn't have to be at her own house, avoiding Petunia and her cold silences. And you could never be bored at Hogwarts, which made a change from home.

"So, want to come for a walk in the grounds, Lily?" Dorcas asked her, after they all felt quite full.

"Uh... don't we have an essay for Potions?"

"Yeah, but you can always do that later," Avril suggested. She was a fan of finishing her homework at the last minute possible.

"Oh, I don't know... You guys go for a walk, I think I'd better start it after lunch..." Lily sighed.

"Well, we can stay and do it too, if you like..." Robyn offered.

A smile appeared on Lily's lips. "Thanks, but it's okay. I know how much you hate potions, Rob... Seriously, you guys go out for a walk. I'll see you up in the Common Room later, yeah?" With that, she started to make her way upstairs. She was walking down a deserted corridor, deep in her own thoughts, when she suddenly heard two people shouting at each other. She stopped, realizing the noise was coming from just around the corner. It would probably be awkward if she interrupted them, she thought, so she stayed where she was, hoping the argument would finish soon.

"-just got no idea what I'm like, do you?" a girl's voice shouted.

"Well that's not my fault, is it, Leah? You've always been really secretive, even around Mum and Dad! You never tell any of us what you like doing, what you-" Lily recognized the voice as James'. She tried not to listen in, but both siblings were yelling loudly.

"They just don't get me, and you don't understand me either! I feel like a stranger in my own family! It's no wonder none of you guessed what house I would be sorted into..."

"Yeah, well maybe I should have known you'd be put into the evilest of houses!"

"Is that what you think? That everyone in Slytherin is evil? That I am too?"

"No, I-"

"Well you're wrong! It's just prejudice, stupid Gryffindor prejudice, and I'm sick of it!"

"Come on, Leah, you have to admit a lot of Slytherins are pretty dodgy..."

"Yeah, but not all of them! There's a lot of idiots in Gryffindor too, but you never call _them_ evil!"

"Because they're not!"

"Oh, and Slytherins are? Just shut up, James... You've got no idea!"

"And you have? There's people in that house who already know how to perform Unforgivable Curses! You don't know what you're getting yourself into..."

"It's not as if I had a choice! I was Sorted into this house, remember? I am who I am, James... Just 'cos you and Mum and Dad were Gryffindors it doesn't mean I have to be too! I just wish you'd all understand that..." she muttered finally. James didn't reply, and a moment later Lily heard her steps fading into the distance.

She waited for a while, waiting for James to leave. When she didn't hear anything for a while, she assumed he'd gone, and stepped round the corner. She was surprised to still see him there, sitting on the floor with his head against the wall, eyes closed. He looked so vulnerable like that, his hair all scruffy at the back, his knees bent up towards him...

He started as she took a step towards him, opening his eyes. They were glistening with tears, and he wiped them away quickly.

"Hey, Evans! What you doing round here? It's a deserted corridor, you know..." he said brightly.

"Um, yeah, I was just heading up to the Common Room... you?"

"I was walking down here when I had the sudden urge to sit down and contemplate the meaning of life," he grinned sarcastically.

Lily rolled her eyes. Trust James to try and hide his feelings. Lily had never seen him cry before, and it made her feel oddly protective. "You know, you don't have to pretend you know. It's only human to cry."

"Who's crying? Not me, Evans. I never cry," he said stubbornly. But both of them knew that wasn't true.

"Not even if you have reason to? It helps, you know." She doubted for a second, biting her lip, then sat down next to him. "Talking helps too."

He looked surprised, which was only normal, considering their relationship over the past 5 years hadn't been too friendly, to say the least. "Why are you being so... understanding?"

Yeah, actually, why _are_ you being so understanding? Lily thought to herself. James Potter was an idiot, he didn't deserve her attention in the slightest. He had been making her life impossible for as long as they had known each other. She wasn't going to forget that, but at the same time... He just looked so depressed, in a way that she had never seen before. He'd always put on an appearance of happiness, or at least of entertainment. James was the kind of person who never had a "bad day": he pulled pranks (usually on the Slytherins), with a sarcastic grin etched constantly on his face.

But Lily felt, deep down, that he wasn't so bad. Granted, he was annoying as hell, especially towards her, but that didn't make him a bad person.

"Oh, I don't know, I find someone crying in a deserted corridor, and I'm supposed to walk past them?" she joked.

"Evans, I wasn't crying..."

"Yeah, okay, so what's this?" she asked quietly, gently wiping a single tear off James cheek with her finger. For a moment, they looked into each others eyes in silence. Lily felt blood pumping to her head, once, twice, three times, before she dragged her eyes away from his. She cleared her throat awkwardly, and he looked away.

"So, anyway, Potter, I'd get up if I were you..." she nervously muttered. "I wouldn't like to be the one explaining to Pringle why you're sitting in the middle of a deserted corridor..." Apollyon Pringle was the caretaker, who had long got fed up of the Marauder's pranks. He had a short temper, and wasn't someone to be messed with.

"No... I mean, it's not like I can explain it anyway," James frowned.

"Care to explain the meaning of that sentence?" she looked at it, her eyes full of concern.

He looked back at her, and realized that she actually cared. That was different, he thought. It wasn't everyday that Lily Evans expressed the wish to understand him better.

"Well... you know my sister, Leah?" he started.

"Carry on," Lily encouraged him.

"She... she's been sorted into Slytherin... but you probably knew that anyway, you were at the Sorting..."

"Yeah..."

"And... We used to be really close, you know? We told each other everything, we looked out for each other... But for the past few years, she's been acting, oh, I don't know how to put it... stand-offish? Like, she rarely came to me for advice, she rarely even spoke to me when it wasn't strictly necessary...

Lily sighed, knowing the feeling all too well. She had been close to Petunia too, more like friends than sisters. They had shared everything. But when she found out Lily being a witch, everything changed between them. It was like all those years of friendship had meant nothing to her.

"And I hate it," James continued. "It doesn't feel right. And now... this. Her being sorted into the House that _everyone_ knows is evil... But Leah, she's not... she's not..."

"Not what?" Lily asked, slightly confused.

"Not evil," James finished off sadly.

Lily didn't really know what to say, so she remained silent. He didn't speak either, and they both sat there, waiting for the other to say something. Finally, James cleared his throat.

"So, what do you think I should do?"

She was taken aback. He had never asked her for help before: he had teased her, jibed her, annoyed her, asked her out on more than one occasion, but this? This was new. "You're asking me for advice?"

"Yeah... strange, isn't it? But you just... You just seem to understand, Evans."

She sighed again. "Mmm... Maybe because I might have felt something like that before..." she mumbled.

He looked at her questioningly. "Really?"

"Yeah... My sister, she... she doesn't like magic, she doesn't really understand it... And she didn't take too well to the fact that I was- you know-"

"A witch. And not a bad one, either..." He mumbled.

"Was that a compliment?" she asked, amazed.

He didn't answer, just grinned at her.

"Wow, James Potter, complimenting someone who isn't himself... You never cease to amaze me."

"Oh, I amaze you, do I?" he carried on grinning.

She tried not to laugh at how hopeful he sounded, but couldn't help it and giggled. He might be an annoying prat at times, but he certainly knew how to make people laugh.

"When you're not acting like a complete idiot and getting constantly on my nerves..." she retorted.

"Just admit it, Evans: you adore me," he drawled.

"I do not! You're an arrogant toe-ra-"

"Aw, Evans, don't be so mean to me... I was only joking, anyway; no one in their right mind would say that you adore me..."

"Why do you say that?"

He laughed out loud. "Well, it might be the fact that you insult me at every chance..."

"You deserve it.

"...or the way you slapped me that time when I asked you out in 3rd year..."

"You deserved that too."

"...or just because you simply hate me, and everyone knows it," he finished off.

"I don't hate you," she muttered inaudibly.

"What?"

"You heard me."

"Of course I did, I was just wondering why exactly you would say something like that?"

"Because it's true. Hate... is a very strong word."

"Right, I get it," he laughed. "You simply _detest_ me, you're not overly excited by the fast that I _exist, _is that it?"

"Oh, stop it, Potter. You don't believe me, do you? You think I hate you. But seriously, I don't. It's just... you annoy me. Because..." she whispered the last sentence, and James wasn't able to hear.

"Because?"

"Because I'm jealous," she muttered inaudibly.

"What?" he gasped, unable to believe her.

"Again, stop asking me to repeat myself, when you heard me perfectly!"

"Okay, the question is: why? Why the hell would you, Lily Anna Evans-"

"How do you know my middle name?"

"Stop trying to change the subject! My question is why would you, who has perfect grades, great friends, and more than a few male admirers" he winked, "be jealous of me?"

"Because you've got all of that too! You get O's and E's in practically everything, and the whole school adores you, _especially_ the girls... And yet you've never had to work for it. People like you instantly, simply because of what you're like: open, friendly, funny..." she didn't notice the smile on James' face as she complimented him. "And you'd be kidding yourself if you said you've ever had to study much: as much as it pains me to admit this, you're pretty clever."

"Oh, Evans, you're gonna make me blush..."

"I'm not kidding! I've had to work for everything I've got right now, and yet you... effortlessly! But even so, there's still people who don't respect me. You know why, don't you?"

"Uh, not really..." But actually, he did.

"Yes, you do. It's because I'm a Muggleborn."

"Evans, look, you shouldn't let them get to you-"

"And I don't, most of the time! But there's moments when I get sick of it, the way some people sneer at me in the corridors, like they're so superior... I see you, surrounded by admirers, and it just... it hurts, the fact that I'll never be able to be like that, however hard I try."

He fell silent, and looked at her. There was pain in her eyes, and disappointment. It seemed to James as if her eyes were older than her, like they belonged to someone who had lived long and had seen things she didn't want to remember.

"Evans... I'm sorry."

Her eyebrows came together in confusion. "For what, exactly? It's not your fault things are-"

"Not for that, although that too. I'm sorry... for being such a jerk these past five years. Really, I'm sorry. I should have realized that pranks like the ones I've pulled on you aren't really that funny..."

Her face was serious for a second, then the corners of her mouth started pulling upwards.

"Well, that time when you bewitched my Pumpink Juice goblet to ask me out was pretty funny, even though I punched you in the face afterwards..." she chuckled. They both smiled in recollection.

"Yeah... those were the days..." James sighed. It was more complicated now: pranking and being daft simply hadn't caught her attention. So what now?

"Anyway, I'd better get going, Potter... I've got a Potions essay to start..." she said, slowly getting to her feet.

"Oh, er- I'll come with you. I should start it too," he said quickly, standing up next to her.

"You're joking, right? You, doing your homework?" she scoffed.

"There's a first time for everything, Evans."

She stared at him, and laughed again. She was so beautiful when she laughed, James thought, with those cute wrinkles she got round her eyes.

This was different, somehow, from all the other times they had spoken to each other. They had argued, screamed at each other for hours, and he had loved her then. And yet that was different. He had adored her, thought her beautiful, but this was the first time they had really talked. Now he felt he was getting somewhere, finding out who Lily Evans really was on the inside.

It was in that moment when he realized he truly loved her.

Maybe this was a new beginning?


	9. A Tale of Duels

She was walking through a dark forest. Everything around her seemed to have stopped: no wind, no leaves blowing around, and not a sound to be heard. She was completely alone, but then... she wasn't... She could smell something familiar... Something she had smelt in the Gryffindor Common Room...

She woke with a start, sitting up and banging her head against the head-board. Groaning and rubbing the place she had hit, she tried to remember what she had been dreaming only moments before. It had been a good dream, she thought. She remembered silence, and that smell... what was it? So pleasantly familiar...

Whatever it was, she decided as she slowly drifted back into sleep, it sure smelt good.

* * *

Once more, Dorcas awoke them, and once more, Avril took ages in getting up. When they finally made their way down to breakfast, Lily had already forgotten all about her dream.

"Ugh, I so don't fancy Herbology right now..." Avril whined, glancing at her timetable.

"I can't really miss another class, considering how late I arrived yesterday," Lily replied.

"I guess..." her friend sighed.

So they made their way down to Herbology, in the same greenhouse as the previous day. The wind had picked up, and was blowing strongly. Lily pulled her cloak tighter around her, trying to keep the chilly air out.

"Awful weather..." a voice noted from behind.

She spun round and found herself face to face with James, the rest of the Marauders there too.

"Will you stop creeping up on me, Potter? It's getting on my nerves..." she said irritably.

He looked at her, raising an eyebrow almost imperceptibly. After what had happened yesterday, he had been hoping she would be a bit warmer towards him, but it seemed like not.

"So, Evans," Sirius asked, "looking forward to our detention tomorrow evening?"

She glared at him angrily. "Don't rub it in, Black... It's partly your fault all this happened..."

"Actually, no, it's my stupid-ass brother's fault..."

"Actually, yes. If you hadn't drawn your wand-"

"Okay, okay!" James intervened. "Peace... We don't want any more fights..."

Sirius looked at him incredulously. "What? You breaking up a fight? That's new..."

James was saved having to answer as Professor Sprout arrived with her usual warm smile, and all the students struggled into the greenhouse, away from the cold wind.

"Today we will be continuing with the properties of Gillyweed, and how to move them into a different pot. Now, if you could all put on your dragon-hide gloves..." she started.

The class began, as it always did. It was a normal day in school, boring for some of the students. However, Lily smiled to herself. This was the stuff she loved the most, the little moments in class where everything felt just right, like nothing could go wrong.

She had missed it so much that summer, it was a physical ache, a feeling that something was missing. It had been her first summer holidays in ages that she hadn't spent with Sev. The days had stretched into whole weeks, months, years even.

But he'd been wrong to call her a Mudblood. The worst thing was, he wasn't even sorry! Sure, he was sorry they weren't friends anymore, he probably missed her just as much as she missed him, but he still didn't realize that what he had said was wrong. Because he truly believed that that was all she was; a filthy Mudblood, inferior because of her ancestry.

She couldn't forgive him. She simply couldn't.

"-do you think, Lils?" Avril interrupted her chain of thought with a question she hadn't heard.

"Uh, sorry, I didn't hear that..."

Her friends sighed. "Oh, Lily, you've sure got your head in clouds today..." Dorcas smiled. "Avril was asking if you thought Angeline would win the bet or not."

Lily grinned. It was a source of amusement, the sudden enmity that had sprung up between Robyn and the new girl. Robyn rarely took a dislike to anyone, but with Angeline...

"I'm not sure, to be honest..." she mused. "I mean, Angeline could win any guy, but this Alexander? He's something new."

"He sure is..." Dorcas giggled. "I mean, did you see those gorgeous eyes of his? Like, wow..."

"Yeah, but who's she kidding? He's a teacher, not a 3r year groveling for girls attention... Angeline's a stuck up prissy, she thinks she can get any guy she wants..." Robyn muttered.

"You know, I never thought you had it in you," Avril remarked, staring at Royn. "You've never hated anyone, and now suddenly you start picking-"

"I'm not picking on her! She just gets on my nerves, and a bet sounds like fun anyway..."

"Oooh, who's betting?" Sirius asked, pulling up a chair at the girls' table.

"Robyn," Avril smiled.

"How come? Didn't know you were into that kind of thing, Rob..." Remus added, sitting next to Dorcas.

"I'm not! It was just one bet, okay?"

"What are you betting?" Sirius asked, as the other two Marauders dragged their chairs up too. Professor Sprout glanced over at them, but didn't say anything.

"It's nothing, I-" Robyn tried to explain, but Avril interrupted.

"Oh, it's something alright! She's betting against Angeline getting Alexander Bekane to kiss her" Dorcas giggled.

The boys laughed loudly, earning another glance from Professor Sprout.

"So, let me get this straight, you're betting against one of the hottest girls in the school snogging a young, also hot teacher? Why would anyone bet that?" Sirius asked disbelievingly.

"Because she's an arrogant bitch, that's why! And actually, I'm not betting against that: the exact bet is that Bekane will change his mind about the no student-professor relationships!" she retorted hotly.

"Even worse! I mean, please, this school is full of chicks who are gonna be flirting with that guy 24/7, and you think he'll say no to all of them?" James interceded.

"He's a teacher!"

"He's still a guy, though..." Sirius smirked.

"Out of curiosity, how much are you betting?" Remus asked.

Robyn's cheeks flushed, but she didn't answer.

"She's betting _50 galleons_..." Avril said for her.

"What?" the boys cried. The Professor shushed them, and continued explaining what Gillyweed was useful for.

"Seriously?" Sirius stage-whispered.

"Yeah..." Robyn muttered.

"Do you even have that much money? I mean, I certainly don't!" he laughed.

"Yes, but I'm not going to have to give it her. She'll never win... will she?" Robyn looked around at them nervously.

They all looked at her, not sure what to say. Lily didn't think Angeline would manage it, but if it was any student... There where a lot of flirts in that school...

"Well, I guess we'll find out, won't we?" James asked. They all turned to stare at Angeline, who was sitting at the other side of the room with Benjy Fenwick, also known as the best kisser in the school. He was looking her up and down, as she seductively fluttered her eyelashes at him.

Robyn groaned.

* * *

After Herbology, they had Charms, which was uneventful, and then Defense Against the Dark Arts. They were waiting outside class again, keeping away from the Slytherins, when their new teacher arrived. He wasn't wearing robes, as most professors did, but ripped jeans and a dark shirt rolled up at the elbows.

It did not escape Lily's notice that Angeline sighed pleasantly as she saw the teacher. Well, she's right, he _is _rather fit... she thought. But he's a teacher! Who's Angeline kidding?

"Good morning, people! We'll be going down to the grounds today, more space for what I've got planned. If you could all follow me..." he said, leading the way outside.

"Wonder what we're going to be doing," Dorcas whispered.

"Bet it'll be interesting, though," Lily added. "He seems like a fairly good teacher..."

"He does, doesn't he?" Angeline happily sighed, joining the group.

"Well, yeah, but that's not why you like him; you just want a quick snog and 50 galleons..." Robyn muttered angrily.

"Yes, and by the end of the year I'll have gotten both!"

"I wouldn't be so sure, Angeline..." Lily remarked.

"None of you think I'll manage it, do you? Well, I'll show you all..." and with that, she strode to the front of the group, walking in line with Alex Bekane. After a moment or two, they heard the professor laughing.

"Oh, shit..." Robyn growled. She looked at her friends. "I don't actually have 50 galleons, you know..."

"No, I didn't think you did: I mean, it's a small fortune!" Dorcas said as they reached the grounds. They walked away from the castle, and finally stopped at the professor's command.

"We are gathered here today" he began in mock solemnity, "to practice an art that began in the beginning of our world, at the time where wizards were only just discovering how wands work. And art that is both dangerous and beautiful, feared and loved, and practiced by many. Could anyone tell me what this art is?"

"Flying?" someone suggested.

"No, although good try, Mr. Prewett. Anyone else?"

"Duelling?" Lily suggested.

"Correct," Alex exclaimed. "Now, Miss Evans, could you tell me exactly what duelling is?"

"A duel is a confrontation between two or more wizards or witches. The combatants face each other, bow, and then attempt to disarm, injure, or kill each other in order to force submission, and thus a winner is decided. Opponents are only permitted to use magical means of combat."

"Very good, although I would have preffered it if you'd used your own words... But a perfectly correct explanation. I wonder, have any of you ever duelled before?"

A small amount of hands were raised, amongst them all four of the Marauders'. Why am I not surprised... Lily wondered.

"Good, good... Well, today we are going to be practicing this incredible art. It is useful to everyone, and although many people will tell you it is simply throwing curses at your opponent, it actually isn't. It has a whole load of rules that are necessary for a fair fight, and it is my aim in this class to teach you them. As Miss Evans so kindly indicated, the two opponents face each other, and bow, as so," he demonstrated, bowing low. "And then begins the fight. You are not permitted to touch your opponent in any way, only spells, jinxes or curses are permitted. However, swearing is allowed," he smirked, as the class laughed.

"Now I want you to pair up, and begin to duel. Your aim is to disarm, I repeat DISARM, not kill or injure, your opponent. You may begin."

"Hey, Av, you with me, yeah?" Lily asked.

"Yup. Shall we move a bit further out, there's not much space here..." they were surrounded by students, so they made their way towards the outside of the group, where they were less crowded.

They stood in front of each other, and bowed. They tried to remain composed, but the sight of their friend bowing to them was rather amusing, and they both burst out laughing at the same time.

"Okay, this is crazy..." Avril giggled. Around them, people were starting to bow too.

"Yeah, but we've got to try, haven't we?" Lily laughed too.

"Okay, let's try again," Avril added. They both bowed again, and managed to surpress laughter.

On the other side of the group, James was calling out. "Hey, Snivellus, fancy a duel?"

Severus turned round quickly, and glared at James. He walked towards him slowly. "You're way beneath me in wand skills, Potter..."

"Well, then you won't mind giving me a bit of practice, will you?" he smirked.

Severus doubted for a moment, his eyes narrowed. He looked over at Lily, who was laughing with her friend, then said simply "Alright."

They were in the middle of the group; around them, Remus was duelling with Dorcas, Sirius was thrashing Peter, and everyone was concentrating hard. They took a few steps away from each other, and bowed slightly, nodding curtly. They cried out at exactly the same moment.

"_Alarte Ascendare!_"

"_Levicorpus!_"

Severus was thrown back slightly, his wand dropping from his hand, but James was lifted high into the air, as if some unknown force had picked him and was dangling him by his feet. "_Baubillious!_" he shouted from there. A jet of bright white light shot towards his opponent, who doged out of the way just in time. His left cuff caught fire, but he put it out with an "_Aguamenti!_", at the same time as James shouted "_Expulso!_", causing a loud explosion right next to Severus.

The rest of the students were staring at them now, attracted by the light and they explosions. James yelled "_Liberacorpus!_", and fell to the ground with a hard thud. He groaned, winded, knowing that by tomorrow he would be badly bruised. He stood up and turned to Severus, who was also standing up, they glared at each other, and raised their wands once more.

"_Flipendo Duo!_"

"_Sectumsempra!_"

A scream pierced the grounds, as blood spurted from James's chest. It looked as if he'd been slashed by an invisible sword, and he fell to the grass, his wand slipping from his hand. Severus gasped in horror, staring at James as he rushed towards him.

Alexander Bekane got there first, and pushed him out of the way. "Everyone stay back," he instructed to the shocked classmates, as he ripped open the student's white, blood-stained shirt. He began muttering under his breath, moving his wand quickly over James' chest and face, where the biggest wounds were. "_Vulnera Sanentur,_" he repeated. The blood stopped flowing, and after a few moments, the gashes started disappearing.

James, who until that moment had remained with his eyes closed, finally groaned and looked up. He felt terribly weak, and tried to sit up but fell back down again. He was ghostly pale, all blood drained from his face.

Lily sighed, relieved he had woken up. She could not bare to imagine otherwise... She turned round and glared at Severus, who was almost as white as James. He looked terrified, but also thankful that his opponent had woken up.

"How do you feel?" the professor asked James.

"Ugh... Like shit, actually," he smiled weakly.

"Here, have some chocolate," Alex answered, pulling a Chocolate Frog from his jeans pocket.

"I don't really feel like eating right-"

"Seriously, it will help," he said, unwrapping the chocolate and placing it in James' hand. "Eat."

James looked queasily at the frog, then bit into it. Color began to slowly seep back into his cheeks. "Mm, not half bad..." he muttered, finally sitting up.

The professor smiled at him, then turned to the rest of the students. "Right, you can all go now. The class is finished. Mr. Snape, you come with me." There was probably about a quarter of an hour left of class, so they went off in their respective directions. However, Lily, Avril, Dorcas and Robyn stayed behind, along with the Marauders, who were helping a groaning James up.

"Oh, fuck... I feel awful", he moaned, leaning on Sirius and Remus as Peter carried their bags.

"The little piece of shit!" his best friend exclaimed angrily.

"I can't believe Sev would have known a curse like that," Lily intervened. "He probably just read it somewhere, and thought it was a good moment to try it out..."

"You have got to be joking!" James argued, incredulous.

"Lily, James could have been killed!" Remus said.

"Yes, but-"

"I can't believe you're taking his side! He's in _Slytherin_, for fuck's sake! He's probably learned it of one of his evil mates..." James growled.

"Not everyone in Slytherin is evil," Lily glared at him. "You of all people should know that."

James caught the reference to his sister, and flushed an angry shade of red. "You're wrong there, and this proves it. Even if he didn't know the spell, he shouldn't have used it!"

"I'm just saying-"

"No, you're just trying to stick up for him, as usual! When will you realize that he's an evil git, who cares for no one except for himself?" he snapped.

Lily threw him an angry look, knowing he was partly right. It did seem Sev was rather evil, getting into the Dark Arts rather a lot. And as to not caring about anyone but himself... A few years ago, Lily would have been able to argue against that, but now...

They walked back to the castle in silence.

* * *

On the other side of the grounds, Severus was getting nervous. He had followed Professor Bekane, and they had finally stopped. The teacher was simply looking at him coldly, and Severus was beginning to feel uncomfortable. Alexander finally spoke.

"That's an advanced spell, you know."

Of all the things Severus was sure he would hear, that was not one of them. He stared at the man in front of him.

"Uh..."

"A very advanced spell, and as I'm sure you're aware, one belonging to the Dark Arts," he continued.

Snape remained silent, waiting for the expulsion that was sure to come.

"The Dark Arts are not permitted in this school, you understand that? Nor in my class. You were under strict instructions to disarm, and disarm only. However good your duelling skills may be, you must follow instructions exactly as I give them. Is that understood?"

Severus nodded curtly.

"If it ever happens again, I will be forced to expel you. You may go."

He turned on his heel, and walked off into the grounds, leaving a confused Severus standing there.


	10. A Tale of Discrimination

"Oh, what have we here?"

It was Potions with the Slytherins, the first lesson on Wednesday, and Professor Slughorn had just approached Lily and Robyn's cauldron. The former had pulled her hair up in a loose ponytail, her face red from the rising steam. Robyn was sucking her thumb absentmindedly; she had cut it while slicing the Sopophorous beans.

"Very good indeed..." he remarked, placing a leaf in it. It disintegrated before their eyes, and the girls beamed. "Strong, I dare say a single drop would send us all to sleep! Full marks for both of you!"

Avril and Dorcas, whose potion had caused Slughorns' leaf to spontaneously combust, pulled faces at them behind the teacher's back.

As Slughorn made his way around the rest, Lily went to leave the rest of the powdered root of asphodel back in the ingredients cupboard. She was just placing it back on the shelf, when she noticed someone behind her. She spun round quickly, and felt the bottom of her stomach drop as she saw who it was.

"Hi, Lily," Severus said, looking at her hopefully.

"Hi..."

He too placed the ingredients he had not used back on the shelf. "So, uh... How's the new year going?"

"Fine," she said curtly. _Like it's any of your business,_ she added in her head.

"I'm glad... I was wondering, you know... seeing as Slughorn has sent so much... maybe you would like to study in the Library? You know, together?"

She looked at him for a second, then sighed. "Look, Sev, I don't think that'd be a good idea."

"But why not? We always study better together, you said so yourself, remember?"

That was true: she _had_ said that. But it had been a long time ago, in the days when they spent most of their time together. And that was before...

She gave him a cold stare. "I did, but that was before you insulted me because of my blood, _remember?_"

He winced as if at a physical pain. "Lily, I am so, so sorry for what I said, and if you would just let me-"

"Let you what, Sev? Let you apologize? But you've done that already and it makes no difference. So, please, just stop." With that, she left him and returned to her friends.

Severus just stood there. It hurt him so much, the look of absolute disgust that the girl he loved had just given him. Because it was true, he loved her: more than anything in the world. How could he make her see that?

* * *

_What a way to start the day,_ Lily thought as they all made their way towards Herbology. It was always the same old story. Severus just couldn't seem to understand that it wasn't that she didn't _want_ to be friends with him, it was that she _couldn't_. She couldn't find it inside her to forgive him.

James, Sirius, Remus and Peter joined the girls.

"Potions is so boring... Back there it was if I'd already taken the Draught of Living Death..." Sirius said.

"It's not that bad," Lily reprimanded him. "If you actually payed attention once in a while, you might even find it interesting."

"Not probable, Evans," James said.

"I agree," Remus added. "It's been five years, and the longest time where he's actually paid attention to a teacher was back in third year, when McGonagall taught us about Animagi..."

"Yeah, well, I had a feeling it might be useful!" Sirius said with a wink at his friends. Lily noticed, but decided to ignore it: the Marauders were always sharing private jokes.

James fell into step next to her. "Oh by the way, Evans, McGonagall said you, Sirius and me have got to "make our way down to the Gamekeeper's hut at five o'clock sharp, and to wear our warmest garments"", he said, in a good imitation of the professor's serious tone. The corner of Lily's mouth twitched upwards as she tried to stop herself from laughing.

"Our warmest garments? What, are we going to be staying out until late? I hope not, I've got that Potions essay to do..."

"Well, there's an easy solution to that, Lily-flower. Leave for tomorrow what you can't be bothered doing today, that's what I always say," Sirius laughed. Avril joined in, laughing louder than she normally did. It was known by all that Avril had fancied him since way back.

"Is that your theory then, Black?" she asked him flirtatiously.

"Yep," he answered. He grinned at her, but didn't reply with a usual witty response. James shot him a strange look.

* * *

Herbology was it's usual unremarkable self, and so was Transfiguration, but Defence Against the Dark Arts was a different matter.

Alexander Bekane opened up the classroom for them. The Gryffindors and Slytherins filed in, noticing the serious look on their teacher's face. He didn't sit behind his desk, as most of the professors did, but instead paced up and down the classroom as he spoke.

"The two previous lessons, we have covered spells that, however useful, are not as, ah... how shall I put it... _dark_, as the stuff we're going to be dealing with now... Who can name at least 10 dangerous magical creatures?" he asked, looking around.

Loads of students put up their hands; Angeline's was the highest in the air, and Alexander pointed at her.

"Well, Alex- I can call you Alex, can't I?" she simpered. He nodded, smiling. "It gives a sense of familiarity... So, Alex, I think vampires are probably dangerous..."

"You don't say," Robyn muttered.

"...and dragons... um, hags? Boggarts, Acromantula... Hippogriffs, Banshees, Boggarts... Uh... Centaurs? I can't think of any more, sir..." she said.

"Not bad, Miss Beauregard. Anyone else?"

"Basilisks!" someone called out.

"Goblins."

"Giants, they're _well_ dangerous!"

"_Witch Weekly_ had an article on Red Caps yesterday, they sounded pretty bad..."

"Werewolves," Remus added in an undertone.

Alexander looked at him. "Actually, there's a lot of misinformation on werewolves out there. While they are dangerous in their wolf form, when they're human they don't actually present any threat to others. People are prejudiced against them, but it's not their fault: most of them don't choose to be werewolves, they get bitten by another." He looked around, all the students listening. This was an important topic, mostly skirted over by the newspapers; some agreed with what he was saying, but others were shaking their heads. "Werewolves are shunned by our society, and-"

"Yeah, but maybe that's for a reason," a voice interrupted from the back. Students turned round to look at the speaker, who was Antonin Dolohov.

The professor looked at him. "And what reason would this be?"

Dolohov looked confused for a second, but then his gaze hardened. "Well, they kill people, don't they? And they bite, they pass on their monstrosity... They shouldn't be allowed near humans, there should be some safety!"

A few students nodded, in complete agreement, but others looked angry. Suddenly, James stood up, pushing back his chair.

"You," he said, pointing a finger at Dolohov, "have got no fucking idea, so I'd thank you kindly if you could just keep your mouth shut."

"Mr. Potter, swearing is only allowed in my class when dealing with dangerous monsters," the professor reprimanded him.

"Yeah, well... Can I just say something more?" he asked.

Alexander nodded.

James straightened up, and this time spoke addressing the whole classroom. "Werewolves are humans. Yes they transform into wolf-form, yes they can be dangerous in the full moon, but during the rest of the month, they're exactly like us! No different from you or I... It's discrimination, not safety!" he said, glaring at Dolohov. "Werewolves, as Alexander was just saying, are shunned by our society: they don't get offered jobs, and most of them live on their own or with other werewolves, simply because of the pressure they get from us! I mean, really, do you think that's fair?"

Lily's eyebrows were raised in surprise. It was not often this topic was discussed, and to hear someone speak publicly of it, out loud in front of the class...

"I've had the chance to meet a werewolf" James said, earning the gasps of some students, "and to be honest, he's a great person. He's kind, considerate, and he would never, ever bite anyone. And that's it, really," he said, sitting down. There was a silence, and then a few people clapped loudly. Sirius cheered, and Peter clapped his friend on the back. Even so, the people in agreement were a minority. It was obvious that what James had said had not convinced everyone.

"Look, even if you _do_ have a mate that's a werewolf" Evan Rosier said from his seat, "it doesn't change the fact that he's a danger to you. He could bite you, turn you into a monster like him at any moment. I bet you wouldn't be so friendly towards him then, would you?"

"He wouldn't though. He's the kind of person who would rather die than pass on his problem to someone else," James said.

"Yeah, but maybe he wouldn't be able to stop himself! When they're in wolf-form, they lose control, don't they? So it's not like he'd even know he was doing it..."

"Then we'd have to find a solution, wouldn't we? I don't know, lock him up during the full moon, or..."

"So they do present a danger, and yet you're so blinded you still defend them!" the Slytherin exclaimed incredulously.

"I'm not defending what they do, Rosier, I'm just saying that they're still people, and they deserve the same rights as us!" James said.

Rosier was about to retort when Severus stood up at the back, and everyone looked at him. "So Potter, what you're saying is that these creatures, these beasts, should be treated as normal human beings, even though they're dangerous. That we shouldn't care how many victims they reap, they should still be seen as people?"

James glared at him. "Look, I'm not saying-"

"No, what you're saying is that even though werewolves have killed thousands of both wizards and Muggles, they should have the respect they "deserve", is that it? Because how I see it, they don't deserve any treatment other than Azkaban," he finished coldly.

"Well, I think that's rather harsh, Snape," Dorcas spoke for the first time in the lesson. "I mean, come on, no one deserves to be sent to prison for something they can't help!"

"Hear, hear," Peter added.

"Because it's not like they choose lycanthropy... It's more like an illness than a way of life, you know..."

"Yeah," Sirius said, "it's not like they wake up one day and say "hey, I fancy being a werewolf today!"" A few people laughed, and the tension was eased slightly, although James and Severus were still glaring at each other.

Alexander, who had been silently observing the debate for a while, suddenly glanced at his watch. "Class is over, guys! So, for next lesson I want an essay about what _you_ think about werewolves, and how they should be treated. Off you go!"

The class left, all of them loudly discussing what the debate.

"Well, I agree with James completely" Avril said. "Werewolves have been treated unfairly for years, and as Sirius said, it's not like they chose to be werewolves, is it?"

"Did someone say my name?" Sirius asked from behind them. As usual, the other three were with him.

"Do you guys always have to butt into other people's conversations?" said Lily.

"Oh, yeah, it's a tradition now, Lily-flower, and who am I to break a tradition?" Sirius winked. The rest couldn't help laughing. Lily was still grinning when Severus stalked past them, his head held high.

"He'll realize he's wrong eventually..." Dorcas said, noticing the direction of Lily's gaze.

"I hope he does. I mean it's stupid, isn't it, the way some people think werewolves are dangerous even in human form..."

"Yes, but Lily, you have to admit werewolves are actually a big threat..." Remus said, overhearing their conversation.

"Oh, come on, Remus, I didn't have you down as a werewolf hater!" said Lily, remembering a conversation she had had with Severus the previous year.

("What? You can't be serious..." Lily laughed as she walked down towards the Lake with her friend.

"He always looks tired at this time of the month, and how come all his visits to his mother coincide with the full moon?" Severus retaliated.

"She's sick, Sev, that's what-"

"That's what Lupin told you, did he? Well, I'm not surprised he wants to keep it quiet..."

"So you think he's a werewolf," Lily said, looking at Severus. He didn't say anything, but if was obvious from his silence that that was indeed what he thought.)

"And I'm not!" Remus was quick to reply. "I'm just saying that in wolf-form..."

"But the discrimination against them doesn't just affect them in wolf-form! Even when they're human they're still hard pushed to get a job..." Dorcas said.

"Except at the Exploding Bonbons Disposal Unit in the Ministry, of course," Robyn announced pleasantly. They all stared at her, not sure whether to laugh or to question her sanity.

"Um, Robyn? I'm not sure what you mean..." Dorcas said.

"Werewolves can usually get jobs in the Exploding Bonbons Disposal Unit... It's because they think they can take over the Ministry from there, you see... Edgar Bones is in on the plan, you know... Although weren't there rumors that he was a werewolf too?" she wondered vaguely.

Dorcas was the first to let out a giggle, and the whole group laughed loudly. It was ridiculous that the Minister for Magic, Edgar Bones, such a serious man, would think of taking over the Ministry... starting at the Exploding Bonbons Disposal Unit!

Robyn looked at them slightly confused. "What? Don't laugh, it's true!"

But that only made them laugh harder.

* * *

**Well, I had fun writing that chapter! Serious topic, discrimination towards werewolves... ;) Please please please please review!**


	11. A Tale of Detentions

**First of all I want to thank you for the reviews; you're all so brilliant and kind! Seriously, thanks so much :)**

**And now I'll let you start reading!**

* * *

At ten to five that very evening, Lily Evans could be found rushing around in her room, trying to find her warmest boots. How was it that, not even three days into the year, she had already managed to unpack and mess up all her stuff?

Dorcas and Robyn were also searching, while Avril lay on her bed as usual.

"I am going to be so late..." Lily muttered. She was already wearing some jeans and a Pink Floyd sweatshirt, and was pulling on some woolly socks.

"Ah, you'll be fine... Anyway, what is it you're doing?" Avril said.

"I don't know, McGonagall didn't say... Just to be at the Gamekeeper's hut at five o'clock sharp... I'm going to be so late!"

"Do you get an extra detention if you're late?" Dorcas asked, looking under Angeline's bed, who was currently nowhere to be seen.

"No idea! It's my first detention, isn't it... I'm not usually in trouble..."

"Found them!" Robyn called from the other side of the room. She stood up, a black boot in each hand.

"Thank you thank you thank you!" Lily cried, rushing over. She gave Robyn a kiss on the cheek, and pulled her boots on. "Well, I should be warm enough like this, right?"

Her friends nodded.

"Okay, see you later then!" With that, she dashed out of the room.

"I wouldn't like to be in her place" said Dorcas, looking out of the window. The wind was already getting up, and it would only be about two hours until sunset.

"Me neither... I'd much rather be lying here in my warm dormitory... Who wants a game of Exploding Snap?" Avril said, sitting up.

"I'm in!"

"Me too," Robyn said, reaching for her pack of cards. They were all sitting on Avril's bed, Robyn already dealing, when Angeline came in through the door.

"Where have you come from then?" Robyn asked.

"None of your business," she smiled sweetly. However, it was obvious what she had been doing: her lipstick was all over her face, and her blouse was crumpled.

"Where was it this time? Broom cupboard on the third floor?" said Robyn.

Angeline blushed bright red. "As I said, none of your business," she said with less conviction.

"Thought so."

"Oy, Robyn, quit slut-shaming Angeline and play, it's your turn," Avril said.

"I was right though," Robyn added in an undertone as Angeline went to have a shower. "That girl is aiming to make out with every single guy in the school."

"So? What's wrong with that?" asked Avril, who had had her fair share of broom cupboards.

"Nothing, she just seems... I don't know, superficial?"

"Yeah, but that's still no reason to dislike her..."

"I guess... I mean, so long as she stays away from Professor Bekane..." Robyn trailed off.

"Exactly."

"She's still too flirty, though."

"You're not flirty enough!" James said to Sirius as they made their way towards the Hut.

"What?" His friend stared at him. "What the hell's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know... It's just, since the year has started, you haven't been yourself..."

"In what way?"

"You don't flirt anymore! Last year, well and any other year for that matter, you were constantly trying to get any girl you could, but now... It's as if you've lost interest!"

"I haven't lost interest!"

"Well then what's wrong? Because since you've been back, you haven't-"

"And what about you? Since that time when Lily called you a "womanizing git", you haven't even kissed anyone else!" his friend scoffed.

"Yeah, but that's different... At least I've got a reason..."

"And who's to say I haven't?" Sirius said haughtily.

James' eyes widened in surprise. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"Depends what you're thinking, Prongs..." his friend drawled.

"You're saying you've got a reason that you don't flirt with girls anymore... and the only reason for that is-"

"The only reason for what?" Lily asked innocently, walking up to them. Sirius breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Oh, nothing, Lily-flower..." he said.

"Just discussing what we thought we might be doing in detention," said James, resolving to find out exactly what that "reason" of Sirius' might be.

"Well, you guys will have more idea than I do, seeing as you've had more of them than me..." said Lily.

"True... Hey, remember that time we jinxed Bertram Aubrey and got a double detention with McGonagall?"

"His head was twice its' usual size! And that's saying something..." They both laughed in recollection.

Lily tried not to, but the look on Aubrey's face had been priceless... "What was the detention that time?"

"Oh, I think we had to write some lines... Something about "not using insulting spells on fellow students". But that wasn't the worse; I think the worst was probably when we had to polish all the headboards in the Hospital Wing..."

The words triggered something in Lily's mind, and she suddenly remembered. "Oh, I was going to go and talk to Tim Vance... he's in the Hospital Wing, you see..."

"Why do you want to speak to him?" James asked.

"Curiosity, I suppose... I was wondering if he remembers anything that happened, it might help with our patrols... He was Imperiused, you see..."

"Really?"

"Yeah..." Lily confirmed as they reached the Gamekeeper's Hut. They walked up the steps, and Sirius knocked on the wooden door. A bark came from inside, followed by a heavy shuffling. The door opened, and the large figure of Rubeus Hagrid appeared in the frame.

"Yeh mus' be them ones in detention," he said cheerfully. "Wanna come in fer a cuppa before we start?"

They looked at each other, surprised, but followed him in. It was warm inside, a fire crackling in the corner. Hagrid leaned over it to put a kettle on, and nearly bumped into the massive bed next to it. It had some thin sheets on it, and nothing more.

"Aren't you cold down here?" asked Lily, before she could stop herself.

He looked at her from under his thick, bushy eyebrows. "Sometimes. Gets kinder cold 'ere in winter... But I'm alrigh'. Anyway, sit down, sit down..."

They did, all crowding round the small table only meant for one (even though a rather large one). He poured the tea into some massive mugs, and Lily took hers in both hands. After sipping in silence for a few minutes, she finally spoke.

"Well, Mr. Hagrid-" She was interrupted by a deep laughter.

""Mr. Hagrid", that's a new one! Nah, yeh can call me whatever yeh want, except fer tha'."

"Okay then... well, Hagrid, I was wondering what we were going to be doing during these two hours?"

"I was gonna take yeh inter the Forbidden Fores', but ol' Minnie said-"

"Who's Minnie?" Sirius asked curiously.

"Oh, eh, Professor McGonagall to yeh. So, yeah, she said it's too dang'rous in there, but tha' mebbe when I get some more experience... Ah, well... Anyway, we're gonna be diggin' up weeds in me pumpkin patch, what do yeh think?"

They looked at each other. James and Sirius had had worse than that before, and anything sounded better to Lily than going into the Forbidden Forest.

When they finished their enormous mugs, and Hagrid had offered them some of his home-made rock cakes, they made their way outside. While Hagrid went to fetch some tools, the three of them were left contemplating the patch. It was big, the whole square outlined by picket fences.

"Do you the think we'll have to dig it all today?" Lily wondered.

"I guess... There are three of us, though, it shouldn't take too long..." said Sirius.

"The ground isn't too hard, either, it hasn't frosted yet," James added, bending down to tap it.

After a moment or two Hagrid arrived with the trowels. "So, yeh're gonna be diggin' ou' weeds," he said, stepping inside the fence. He was careful not to tread on the dark green leaves that filled the patch, or on the small, still unripe pumpkins dotted around. "Careful no' ter dig ou' any o' these beauties, alright? They're fer the Halloween Feas'. So, star' diggin'! If yeh need anythin', jus' gimme a shout," with that, he started to make his way towards the Black Lake.

They looked at each other again.

"He seems nice, this Hagrid bloke. Anyway, we'd better get going. What part are we doing each?" said Sirius.

"How about we dig in lines? Like, you do that line" she gestured, "I'll do the middle one, and James can do the one on the far side."

"You're boss, Evans, seeing as it was our fault you're in this detention..." said James.

"Technically, it's my brother's fault. But yeah, you're boss."

They stepped into the patch, being very careful not to break any of the vines that snaked across the ground. They all started at one end, bent over, and started digging.

The ground was relatively soft, for it had rained only the week before; most of the weeds came out easily, although some of them had already sunk their roots right in.

Lily was digging out a particularly tough one, thinking about the boy in the Hospital Wing. It was strange, that he had been Imperiused while inside Hogwarts. She vaguely remembered having seen him at Platform 9 & ¾, and he had seemed quite normal then; he had waved at her, and there had been nothing different about him then. So it must have been then, or during the train journey. But who could have done it? Surely no student was able to perform the Imperius, and she doubted if any of the teachers would do that...

James had already dug up half of his row, which was probably the easiest. It had barely any weeds, and the ones it had were easy to pull out, which left his mind free to wonder about Sirius. What was it his friend wasn't telling him? At breakfast that morning they'd been sitting next to a group of particularly pretty girls, and normally Sirius would have been trying to impress them with his "witty" remarks. But actually, he'd payed no attention to them whatsoever! Which was indeed rather strange...

And Sirius? Well, he'd barely dug anything, he was too busy thinking about whether it was really necessary to hand in that awful Potions essay, which he really didn't want to do. Not because he couldn't, but because he really couldn't be bothered...

"Hey, do you-"

"What-"

"When is that-"

They all broke the silence at once, and laughed.

"You first, Evans, you were about to speak," James said.

"It's not really important, I was just wondering if you knew what time you can visit people in the Hospital Wing."

"Still wondering about Vance? I think you can go and see him at whatever time you like, but Madam Pomfrey doesn't usually let people stay for long."

"When I broke my leg in the Final last year" James added, "she only let a few in at once. She wants her patients to rest, which is understandable, of course."

"Yeah... Well, I think I'll go and see him later. Ask him about where he thought he was Imperiused, and who it might have been. Might help when we arrange patrols."

"Not a bad idea, Lily-flower," said Sirius.

"Thank you. What were you going to say?"

"I was going to ask when that Potions essay's in for," he said.

"Tomorrow, I think."

"Yeah, old Sluggie's always sending homework for the next day," James complained.

"Mean git."

"Hey, that's not fair! He's actually a good teacher..." said Lilyin his defence.

"Still doesn't change the fact he send too much homework, does it?"

"Guess not... Anyway, I'm done, how about you?" she said, straightening up. James did the same, but Sirius still had a fair bit to do.

They sat on the fence, looking out on the stretches of grass that reached up to the Black Lake. Hagrid was to be seen there, leaning over the edge. He seemed to be looking at something in the water, but they couldn't see what it was from so far away.

"Hey, what do you think he's doing over there?" James wondered.

"No idea. Looks like he's talking to someone..."

"What, in the Lake? I doubt it, not unless they've drowned!"

"True... I don't know, then," said Lily.

"Hey, look what I've found!" Sirius called to them from his end of the patch. He had stood up, and was showing them something. They made their way over to him, and saw he was holding up a big golden disc. It was roughly the size of a mug-rest, but thicker and made of what seemed to be solid gold. It had some inscriptions on it, but it was too covered in mud for them to make out what it was.

"Wow... What is it? Some sort of coin?" James asked them.

"Not one I recognize!" Sirius said. "It's not wizard money... Is it some type of Muggle coin, Lily-flower?"

"I don't think so. At least, I haven't seen anything like this before... Give it a wipe, see what it says."

Sirius did, rubbing it on the hem of his shirt. Even so, it was still quite muddy, and as the light was fading, it was impossible to make out the engravings.

"Ah, well, we could ask Hagrid about it. It might be his..."

"Ask Hagrid abou' wha'?" a voice boomed from behind them. Hagrid was back.

"About this," Sirius said, holding up what he'd found.

"Ah, yeh've gorrit! Thanks, I was lookin' fer tha' everywhere," he said, taking it from Sirius' hand.

"You know what it is, then?" Lily asked excitedly. It was in her nature to be curious about everything.

"Yeah, o' course I do! It's fer calling Thestrals, yeh see."

"Really? How does that work?"

"Well, yeh take it like this," he said, picking it up between both fingers, and lifting it to his mouth, "and then yeh see those little holes there?" He showed them, and it was true; three tiny holes were in the side of the coin. "Yeh blow in them, an' it makes a whistlin' sorta sound. The Thestrals come runnin'," he explained.

"Wow... And where did you get this?"

"Bough' it off a bloke in Knocturn Alley."

"What? You've been in Knocturn Alley?" James and Sirius asked, impressed.

"What's Knocturn Alley?" Lily said.

"It's this street, near Diagon Alley. They basically sell all the Dark Arts stuff; shrunken skulls, poisons, cursed objects..." A thought occurred to James as he explained to Lily what it was. "Oy, Hagrid, he didn't say if this whistle thing could do anything else, could it?"

"Yeh mean if it's jinxed? Nah, I made sure it didn'. No worries."

"Just as well..." Sirius muttered as the three of them made their way back up to supper. "You can get some pretty dark stuff down Knocturn Alley."

"How do you know?" Lily was curious.

"My family, they spend half their lives down there. Jinxed snuffboxes, illegal potion ingredients... They buy the lot."

"I get why you don't really get on with them," said James.

"Yeah... They're pretty evil. Well, Andromeda isn't so bad. Did I tell you, she married a Muggle-born this summer?"

"What? You're kidding! How did the family take it?" James laughed.

"Ah, badly. My dear Mother went to blast her off the tapestry, but accidentally set Kreacher's ears on fire!" They both burst out laughing.

"Who's Kreacher?" Lily asked Sirius, rather confused.

"He's our house-elf... Creepy git he is, too. Always sneaking around the house... Ah, can't wait to turn of age next year, then I'll be out of there!"

"You really hate it that much?"

"It's awful... What with Kreacher, and my mother fawning over Regulus and how good it is of him to be in Slytherin, and how he upholds the family pride, and my father going on about Voldemort, how he's got the right idea... Yeah, I hate it that much," Sirius said bitterly.

"Sounds awful, yeah..." Lily muttered. She thought she had it bad, living with Petunia and her awkward silences and cold stares, but it was obvious Sirius had it a lot worse. "At least you can leave soon, though..."

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to that! I'm thinking of renting a flat over Diagon Alley, you know. I'll have to get a job first, though."

They reached the Great Hall, and joined their friends for a delicious supper.


	12. A Tale of Not Knowing What To Do

**Thanks to all the reviewers! You're encouraging me to keep writing, and I'm really grateful for that.**

* * *

After supper, Lily suggested they go and see Tim Vance in the Hospital Wing. However, her suggestion wasn't met with too much joy.

"Sorry, Lils, I've got to go and do the Potions essay..." Avril excused herself.

"I've done it already but, but I kind of fancied painting for a while. I haven't done much all summer, you know, and I was looking forward to it," said Robyn.

Dorcas said she too had to finish her essay, so it was only Lily who made her way up to the Hospital Wing. She knocked on the big doors, and when a voice called out "come in!", she did.

It was mostly empty; after all, there had been no Quidditch injuries, which was the main reason for people to spend time there. Emmeline and Tim were at the far end, the first asleep, the last reading a book. Lily walked towards him, and as she got nearer she was able to see it was a Muggle one.

"You're reading "1984"?" Lily asked him. He looked up, surprised there was anyone there, and smiled at her.

"It's really good! Bit weird... Muggles are always a bit weird though, aren't they..."

"Well, some of them are, some of them aren't. Like everyone."

Tim blushed. "Oh, I forgot you were Muggleborn, sorry... I didn't mean..."

"It's okay," she laughed. "So, anyway, how do you feel?"

"Fine, actually. I think they're just keeping me here for a bit of supervision, see if they can detect anything else that wasn't the Imperius."

"They're sure it was an Imperius, then?"

"That's what they told me... To be honest, I can't remember anything..."

"No? Nothing at all?" she said, slightly disappointed.

"I remember making my way up to the Astronomy tower, because I was going to meet Emmeline there. I walked past a couple of students, I think, and some teachers... And then I just sort of blacked out, and woke up here."

"Right. How's Emily?" She nodded towards the other bed, where a girl was fast asleep, her dark hair falling over her face.

"She's... she's okay... She'll pull through, but the wound was quite deep..." Worry clouded over his expression. "I'm just so sorry, I wish I could have done something. If I'd been expecting it, maybe I could have resisted the curse, or-"

"It's not your fault, Tim, you weren't to know. I just wonder who _is_ behind all this. I mean, who would want to attack Emmeline so much?"

"Well... She's a Muggleborn, you know... And right now, with the state the wizard world is in..."

"She's only a student, though. It's not like she's actively trying to defeat the Death Eaters!"

At the name, Tim looked even more worried. "No, but... she has been talking about stuff like that... She wants to be an Auror, you see... Over this summer, she's turned a bit, ah, how do I put it? Radical? Ever since that Prewett guy got attacked... It was all over the papers..."

Lily remembered it well. She'd been ordering the _Daily Prophet _over the summer, making sure she didn't miss any important news. Ignatius Prewett had been attacked, supposedly by Death Eaters, in a dark alley near the Leaky Cauldron. He was unconscious when Tom the barman found him there. They'd rushed him to St. Mungo's, but it had been too late.

He was the uncle of Gideon and Fabian, who were still at Hogwarts, and of Molly, who had graduated a few years previously.

"So Emmeline is thinking of becoming an Auror to fight Death Eaters?" she asked.

"Yes... I'm not sure if it's a good idea, what with her parentage; she'll surely be one of the first to be targeted... But I don't know, her mind seems set on it-"

"It is," Emmeline confirmed. She had woken up and was looking at them both. "I don't think you really get it, Tim... It's not something I _want_ to do, it's something I feel _obliged_ to do. And being a Muggleborn isn't going to stop me."

"No, but being attacked by your own boyfriend might!" he said.

"But it wasn't you who was attacking me, was it? You were Imperiused..."

"You could have died, Em! How would that have left me?"

Lily decided it was the moment to slip away. It wasn't one of her favorite hobbies to listen to couples arguing.

However, painting was one of Robyn's favorites, and it was apparent when Lily reached their dormitory.

"What the...?"

In the middle of the room stood her friend, standing in front of an easel with her hair pulled up in a messy bun. The canvas she was painting on was already brightly colored. Paint was splattered over everything: the floor, the walls, the bed-hangings, Avril, Dorcas, and even Angeline, whose grumpy expression was made funny by a wide streak of blue down her face.

"Hiya, Lils!" Avril said as her friend walked in.

"What's been going on? It looks like the paint has exploded!"

"You're not far off..." Angeline muttered.

"We had a paint fight," explained Dorcas. "Robyn was trying to paint something, and Avril bumped into her, and jolted her hand. So Robyn got annoyed, and dabbed her nose with a brush. And then Avril..." She started giggling, and couldn't go on.

"And then Avril emptied a whole can of blue paint on my head!" Robyn said, trying to sound angry but not quite managing it.

"Well at least it matched!" the accused exclaimed.

"And then the three of them started throwing paint at each other, and splashing it about, getting it everywhere..." Angeline sighed, as the other three laughed.

When the giggling subsided, they all started cleaning up. Robyn placed her canvas over on the far wall, to be finished another day, while Dorcas, Avril and Lily went around the room crying "Scourgify!". Angeline, who was the worst off paint-wise, went to have a shower. Moments later, the dormitory was back to normal. They flopped back on their beds, quite exhausted.

Avril looked at her watch. "Blimey, it's late! I'm knackered..."

"Me too," Dorcas yawned. "How was Tim, Lily?"

"I think he was okay... Physically, he seemed fine, they were just keeping him there to check up on him every so often."

"And Emmeline?"

"Yeah, she was okay too... Apparently the wound was quite deep, but she's resting..."

"You sound worried, Lily," Avril noticed. Trust her to pick up on her friends' mood.

"Mmmm... It's just Emmeline seems to have taken all this stuff really to heart, you know?"

"What, being attacked by her boyfriend? Well, so would I!"

"Not just that, though. I meant all the attacks, the ones that happen on the street almost daily now..."

"The Death Eaters?" said Robyn.

"Yes... She wants to become an Auror to fight them. But Tim thinks she was attacked because she's a Muggleborn, and that it might happen again."

"It's possible... Although personally, I think she's got the right idea. These so-called Death Eaters are way out of order, and the Ministry doesn't even seem to be doing much about it!" said Dorcas.

"No, but what can they do?"

"Fight them, of course! Find out where they have meetings or whatever it is they do, and hunt them down. Lock them up in Azkaban..."

"Yeah, but the problem is no one knows who they are! They could be anyone, even Ministry workers! They wear masks to hide their faces, and they don't act out in the open. It's always the same, people being murdered at night, whole families murdered in the blink of an eye..." Lily said. "I just- I feel so useless, not being able to do anything! It's people like me being killed, and I can't do anything to help them!"

Her friends were silent. They felt the same, even though they were all from wizard families. It was happening all around them, and it seemed like no one could, or would, do anything to stop it. A war was starting around them, it was only a matter of time before it was declared official.

It was in that moment when, looking around at the faces of her friends, Lily realized that she had to do something, anything, to stop it from happening.

* * *

**This chapter was shorter than the last few, but don't worry, I'll be writing again soon!**


	13. A Tale of Dark Creature Projects

The next morning, over a plate of toast and jam, Lily decided the best way to make sure she heard everything that was happening in the wizarding world was to order the _Daily Prophet_. So as soon as she'd finished breakfast, she made her way to the Owlery.

It was a chilly morning, like the day before, and the sky was a clear, bright blue. She entered the stone building and looked around. She was surprised to see someone else there too. He spun around as soon as she entered.

"Hey, uh, Lily-flower..." Sirius was obviously nervous.

"What are you doing down here this early?"

"Sending a letter, what else would I be doing?" he drawled. He finished tying a piece of parchment to his owl's leg. It was a beautiful barn one, named Meda in honor of his favorite cousin, Andromeda.

"Oh, right, who to?" she asked.

"Uh, no-no one..." said Sirius, not meeting her eyes.

"I get it, none of my business..."

"It's not that, Lily-flower, it just isn't an important letter," he smiled at her.

She smiled back, and tied her request for the _Daily Prophet_ to one of the school owls. They watched it fly out of the window, its' big wings beating against the strong wind.

"So, time for lessons, then... What have we got first?" Sirius said.

"Herbology, same greenhouse as the other day."

"At least we're near." They started walking to class. "So, I haven't had the chance to ask: how was your summer?"

"It was..." She was about to say it was fine, but couldn't quite manage it. "It was awful, actually."

"How come?"

"Well, my sister was her usual horrible self... She kind of hates me for being a witch."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah... She just doesn't get the fact that I can't change what I am, you know?"

"My parents too. The minute I was sorted into Gryffindor, they started acting really weird, like I wasn't part of their family anymore. Which is fine by me: their loss, right?"

Lily laughed at his casual tone. "I know what you mean, but it still hurts..."

"Mmm..." said Sirius.

"And Severus wasn't around much, either..."

"Again, his loss," Sirius repeated.

"Yeah, but I can't help missing him, can I?" It was meant as a rhetorical question, but it didn't sound like it to either of them.

"It will pass, Lily-flower, it will pass... Before long, you won't even be thinking about that rotten, greasy-haired git. It's not like he deserves any of your thoughts, anyway."

"Who _does_ deserve my thoughts, then?" she laughed.

"Me, of course! Oh, and Prongs."

"Prongs?" she asked curiously.

"I, uh, I meant James. Yeah, James, not Prongs."

"Oh, okay then..."_ Weird name, Prongs..._

They arrived at the greenhouse, where the rest of the class was already waiting. Lily joined her friends, determined to forget that "rotten, greasy-haired git" for a while. Thankfully, they didn't have Herbology with the Slytherins, and instead took the class with the Hufflepuffs today.

Halfway through the lesson, Lily heard someone calling her name. She turned round, and saw Remus walking towards her.

"Hey, Remus, what's up?"

"Jeremy says we're holding the Prefects meeting tonight, at half past seven, in classroom five. Can you come?"

"Yes, I can, but why is it always him who arranges these meetings? I mean, we're all Prefects, why does he have to be the one in charge?"

"Oh, you know what he's like, he always has to be the one organizing everyone else..." Remus said vaguely.

"I know, he just gets on my nerves sometimes."

"So, you'll be able to make it?"

"Yep, no problem," she smiled at him. "What's the meeting about, anyway?"

"We'll be arranging the patrols, confirming how many points we deduct for certain things, that sort of stuff..."

"Sound pretty boring to me," Avril said from the chair next to Lily's.

"It is," Lily confirmed. "Remus, remember that time when Jeremy talked for half an hour, non-stop, about the dangers of Flying Frisbees? I thought I was going to fall asleep..."

The two Prefects laughed.

"Yeah... Anyway, I'd better get back to my seat," Remus said, noticing Professor Sprout looking over at their table.

"See you at the meeting! Half seven, classroom five?"

"That's right. See you there," he said, going back to his own table.

"He is kind of nice, Remus, isn't he?" Avril observed, her eyes following him.

"Yeah, he's cute. I mean, in a non-romantic, friendly sort of way."

"Mmm... Although, personally, I think Sirius is hotter," said Avril.

"Yes, he is," interrupted Angeline. "If I can't get Alexander to go on the next Hogsmeade trip with me, I think I'll ask him... I bet he's a good kisser, too..."

"Like he'd want to kiss you!" Robyn said.

"Well, he wouldn't want to kiss _you_, would he," said the other, looking Robyn up and down.

Robyn, who was notoriously not interested in dates, boys, kissing, or anything of that "mushy stuff" as she put it, wasn't bothered by that comment. "No, but I can safely say Sirius wouldn't want to go out with you."

"How would you know?" Although it was Angeline who asked that question, the rest of the girls where quite curious to know the answer. As far as they knew, Sirius went out with any girl, especially ones like Angeline.

"I just do." They waited for her to explain, but she just carried on digging in the pot full of earth she had in front of her.

"You're just jealous because no one would ever ask you out to any Hogsmeade trips."

"Well, if you want to think that..." Robyn drawled. In fact, she had been asked out by a few boys over the years, but seeing as she hadn't fancied any of them, she hadn't seen the point of going on a date with them.

Angeline was about to say something else, but Dorcas decided that was enough bickering for the moment. "Hey, do you know when the Gryffindor tryouts are?"

"No idea," said Avril. "Might be fun to go and watch, though."

"Well, James will probably want everyone there..." Dorcas played Chaser, and had enjoyed every minute of being on the team. James would be as good a Captain as he was a Seeker, and together with Kingsley Shacklebot as Keeper, and Benjy Fenwick and John Bridge as Beaters, they would make a good team. Now they only had to find a replacement for Wyatt Mckinnon and Janine, the first having graduated the previous year.

"I guess so. We'll come and watch you, it'll be fun!" Robyn said.

"I still don't know when the tryouts actually are, so when James tells me, I'll tell you."

At the other end of the table, James was also thinking about Quidditch. When he'd received the badge along with his OWL results, he's been pleased. He had been sure he would get the position: he knew that wasn't very modest of him, but modesty had never been one of his best qualities. Anyway, he was the best player on the team, and everyone knew it. If it weren't for his ambition to become an Auror...

But he had watched the previous captains over his years on the team, and had seen it wasn't actually that easy. There were tryouts, practices and schedules to arrange, you only had the pitch at certain times unless you booked it, not to mention the fact that leading a team seemed really hard. He was going to give it his best shot, though.

* * *

Their last lesson of the day was Defense Against the Dark Arts. After the debate in the last lesson, they were all looking forward to this class. Lily was talking to Avril, when she suddenly looked up and found James right in front of her.

"Hey, Evans."

"Hi." She raised her eyebrows, waiting for him to say something.

"Well, Sirius was just telling me about... about your sister, and about you missing Snivellus..." The nickname escaped his lips before he could stop himself, earning a glare from Lily. "I just wanted to say, well, stuff them, you know... As he told you, it's their loss..."

"Is that all you wanted to say? Because I think that was a bit pointless, to be honest," she said, and angry look in her eyes.

"Uh, well..."

""Uh, well", nothing. Why are you butting into my life? I told Sirius in _confidence_" With that she looked pointedly at Sirius, who shrugged helplessly, "about that, and as I've told you a million and one times it really is none of your business."

"I'm sorry for taking an interested in your life..." he said, hurt filling his eyes.

"I don't want you to take an interest!"

"So, I'm genuinely concerned about your feelings, and you just want me to leave you alone?" He could understand that, when he was pranking and annoying her, she thought he was a jerk. But now, when he was actually trying to be nice...

"Yes! I'll say this for the last time. It's. None. Of. Your. Business." she enunciated clearly.

"Evans, look-"

"Good morning, class! Come on in..." The professor had arrived, and was opening the door of the classroom. Lily shot one last angry look at James, then joined her friends as they all filed in.

"Are you okay, Lils?" Avril asked in an undertone, sitting down.

"Yeah, I'm fine... Just Potter, getting on my nerves..."

In his seat, Sirius was also concerned about his friend. "Sorry, Prongs, that was partly my fault..."

"Nah, it was mine. I could have handled that a lot better."

"Yes, you could have. But on the other hand, you were just being kind. Lily overreacted a bit." Remus' voice was drowned out by Alexander's, who was standing in front of the class and was asking for silence.

"Right then, now you're all quiet" he started, as the general chatter died down, "I want to announce our new project. I was going to introduce it yesterday, but I figured you were all a bit busy with our interesting, ah, debate. So, this project is going to be about the dark creatures of the wizard world, which I want you to investigate as much as possible. The project will consist of any information you can find, which you will then present in front of the class at the end of the year. The originality when presenting it will, of course, be valued. You will be working in pairs, who will be assigned a particular creature which they will then have to work on. I will be assigning the creature, and I will also be choosing the pairs." A groan went up around the whole class: everyone wanted to work with their friends, not just some random person they got assigned with. "Any questions?"

"Do you really have to choose who we work with?" someone asked.

"Yes. I think this will encourage you to mix with others members of the class, apart from your friends. Anything else?"

"Will we be getting marked on the project?" Remus asked.

"Of course. It will be one of the most important projects you do during my lesson, and I hope you will take it seriously." He looked around, and seeing there were no questions, took a piece of parchment from his pile of books. "Now, I have the register here, and I'm going to pair you up randomly. Unless you have an incredibly good excuse which I haven't heard before as to why you shouldn't be together, I suggest you don't complain. Here goes... Antonin Dolohov and Angeline Beauregard, you will be covering vampires," he began calling. The two of them looked at each other, Dolohov smirking.

"Dorcas Meadowes and Remus Lupin, you two get werewolves. That presentation should be interesting, after yesterday's discussion..." No one except the Marauders noticed how pale Remus had got.

"Evan Rosier and Peter Pettigrew, you get hags."

"Jessica Parkinson and Theodore Nott will be doing basilisks."

"Lily Evans and James Potter, you will be doing boggarts."

_Shit_, was the first thought to cross Lily's mind.

_Shit_, was the first to cross James'.

They glared at each other from their respective seats. A look of hatred crossed Lily's expression, but she knew she had no choice. She could think of no excuse good enough for them to not be together. They were going to have to do the project, and it was going to be awful.

James was having mixed feelings. On one hand, he would get to spend more time with Lily, which was never a bad thing. But on the other, she hated him...

"... you two get to do zombies. And the last couple is Sirius Black and Severus Snape."

"You have got to be kidding me!" Sirius said loudly. A few people laughed, but grew silent as they saw the expression on both boys' faces.

"Is there a problem, Mr. Black?" Alexander asked.

"Yeah, he's a git, that's the problem."

"It's not like I want to do the project with you, either!" Severus retorted.

"So the problem is that you simply don't get on? Well, I'm afraid you're going to have to settle your differences and move on. I can't make exceptions." He said it with such a finality that both Sirius and Severus backed down.

"Bad luck, Padfoot," said James, patting his friend on the back.

"Fuck... Of all the people I could have been paired up with..." he complained.

"Ah, well, at least it's only for this year..." said Peter.

"And that's supposed to be good? A whole year, having to meet up with Snivellus? Having to present the project at the end of the year? It's going to be terrible..."

"At least you're not the only one whose partner hates them... I'm with Lily, and Peter is with that Rosier git."

"Ah, well, we'll just have to make the most of it," said Remus.

"Easy for you to say! You're with Dorcas, she's really nice. Which reminds me... Hey, Dorcas!" he called.

She turned round to look at James. "Yeah?"

"I've spoken to the rest, tryouts are going to be on Saturday, starting around ten o'clock in the morning. Is that okay with you?"

"Yes, that's fine," she smiled. She was looking forward to them already.

"Great, I'll put a poster up in the Common Room, then." He noticed Lily was staring pointedly in the opposite direction. "You can't ignore me forever, Evans. We're going to be doing this project together for the whole year."

She didn't look round. She could hear him alright, but had decided she didn't want to hear him. It was probably best for both of them if they kept their speaking to the minimum. Doing this project was going to be bad enough, but if they simply didn't talk to each other during the rest of the time, at least it would be bearable. Wouldn't it?

* * *

**Before you say anything, I'm really sorry: I know James is meant to play Chaser, but I've always seen him as a Seeker! It just seems to fit him more. So yeah, I've changed his team position. Sorry.**


	14. A Tale of Quidditch Tryouts

When Saturday morning came around, their was an air of excitement that had spread through the Gryffindors.

Everyone had seen the poster the Captain had put up, and whether they were going to be trying out or simply going down to watch, they were all looking forward to it. The weather was looking better than it had all week: the sun was shining, and there was a warm breeze.

"Conditions couldn't be better." James sat eating breakfast with Kingsley Shacklebot.

"I agree," Kingsley said in his calm, deep voice. "It was a good day you've chosen for the tryouts, there will be loads of people there."

"Mmm... I bet there will... But I'm guessing most of them won't be there to try out, either."

Around them, people were already discussing whether to go down a get some seats already, or to wait until the tryouts actually started.

"True, but there's always people wanting to see how it goes, aren't there?" said Kingsley.

"Yeah, but this is the first time I'm Captain..." ... and I don't want to them to see me messing up on my first day, he added in his head.

How was he going to organize these tryouts anyway? There were going to be loads of students there, and they'd all see how bad he was at leading, and they'd all think they would lose the Cup if they had such a bad Captain, and that would be bad for the team, and...

Kingsley looked at him, knowing he was worried. Three years of playing on the team together had brought them quite close.

"Are you okay?" he asked James.

"Yeah..."

"Want to talk about it?"

"It's just... I'm going to be awful! Wyatt was a great Captain last year... Okay, we came second but he was still really good! And I don't think I can live up to the expectations people have of me as a Captain," he said in a low voice.

"Wyatt was good, yes, but that was his second year running. You're a great Seeker, James, and-"

"I know I'm a good Seeker!" He didn't even bother trying to sound modest. "But I've never been Captain, and I'm crap at organizing myself, let alone other people..."

"James, really, you'll be fine-"

"But what if I'm not?"

"Then next year you give the position to someone else, simple as that," Kingsley said calmly. "If it's too much stress for you, then I doubt Professor Dumbledore will mind."

James thought about it. "Well, I guess you're right..."

"There you go, then. But if I were you I would at least give it a shot. Because who knows? You might be the best Captain this team has ever had."

* * *

Dorcas pulled on her boots, and grabbed her broom. It was a Nimbus 1001, one of the best. Dorcas' parents had saved up for it for ages, and had finally given it to her on her 13th birthday. She'd been truly happy, flying over the hills in the Lake District.

Her friends had already made their way down to the pitch, saying they would take her some breakfast there. She would need it, because even if half the people who had tried out last year turned up today, they would be there until way past lunch time.

She left the dormitory, and started walking down to the pitch. As soon as she reached the grounds, she could already hear a loud chattering coming from the stands. It sounded like there were loads of people, and it wasn't even ten o'clock yet. Clutching her broomstick firmly over her shoulder, she made her way into the changing rooms.

"You're late," James greeted her grimly.

"I'm not!" she said, looking at her watch. "Okay, one minute past ten, that hardly counts as-"

"You'd better not argue," Kingsley whispered to her. "He's a bit nervous."

"Oh, right. Sorry I'm late, then."

"Well, now everyone is here," said James, looking around, "I want to tell you all to pay close attention. We're looking for someone who will fit in really well; someone who is good at flying, who can play acceptably, and isn't a prat, either." A few of them laughed, easing the tension. "I'm serious, okay? Because this is going to be everyone's decision. At the end, we'll have a vote to see who we want on the team."

"I thought you were the Captain, Potter," said John Bridge, the youngest player on the team.

"I am, but I think if we vote we'll get a more accurate view of who we all consider to be the best choice. Now, we're looking for two Chasers, okay? Any questions?"

There were none, so they went out onto the pitch, broomsticks swung over their shoulders. They were met by a few cheers from the crowd, and by the nervous group of students who were waiting to try out. James led the way over to them, sizing them up.

"Okay," he said, but his voice was drowned out by the noise of the crowd. "Sonorus," he muttered, pointing at his throat.

"Okay," he started again, and this time his voice was a lot louder. The onlookers quietened slightly. "If you could all make different lines, according to your year."

The students who wanted to try out did so, bumping and pushing into each other a bit. James hoped they would be less clumsy when flying than when they were on the ground.

"Right, now if the first years could please come forwards. You're going to have to fly round the pitch twice when I blow my whistle, and we'll see how you go. Oh, you haven't got a broom?" he asked as a first year girl approached him. "No problem, take mine." He handed over his own Cleansweep 5. She looked very pleased, and ran off to join the line. They all mounted their brooms, some more clumsily than others, and rose up in the air.

When James blew his whistle, a couple of them moved forwards, others stood still, and one or two of them fell back to the ground. But not many people noticed: the crowd's eyes were fixed on one particular first year, who flew forwards really quickly. It took James a moment to recognize her as the girl who had asked him for a broom. She zoomed past the stands, and flew twice around the pitch in a very short time. A moment later, she landed back on the ground, and looked around expectantly.

James could already hear mutterings from the crowd, something along the lines of the girl flying so fast because of the broom she had used, but he knew this was not the case. It had been a long time since he had seen someone fly so fast, so elegantly, so naturally, especially if you took into account the age. She's good, he realized.

"Right, if you could all just wait over there, the second years can start now."

They did the same as the first years. More of them flew forwards this time, although extremely slow and awkwardly. There was no comparison between them and the first year girl.

"She was good, wasn't she?" Lily remarked. She, Avril, Robyn and the other three Marauders were sitting right at the front of the stands, watching the fliers. She didn't even have to say who; they all knew who she was referring to.

"Yes, she was," agreed Remus. "Hope she gets on the team."

"She's so little, though..." Avril said. They all looked over at where the girl was waiting, observing the rest of the people trying out. She was indeed tiny, even for a first year. "Aren't Chasers meant to be big and strong?"

"Well, Dorcas isn't that big..." said Sirius.

"No, but she _is_ strong. She looks a lot tougher than that little kid," Avril said.

"Yeah. Still, I think she could be good. She's a natural!" said Peter, an admiring tone in his voice. In 1st year, he hadn't even been able to ride a broom properly: the day they'd had that lesson with Madam Hooch had been embarrassing. He'd risen about three feet into the air, then fallen off sideways and flopped onto the grass. Sirius had laughed so much he had almost fallen off his broom too. Peter still went red at the thought.

"Dorcas!" Lily cried. In the few second of rest between the 2nd and 3rd years trying out, their friend had flown up to the stands.

"Hi, everyone! Well, what do you think? Bit rubbish, ey?" she said, while Robyn leaned out to hand her some toast. She bit into it hungrily: it was already eleven o'clock, and she had had nothing to eat yet.

"Yep, apart from that first year. What's her name, by the way?" Sirius asked her.

"No idea. She's new, I don't think I've ever even seen her before," Dorcas said through a mouthful of toast. "Anyway, I'd better be getting back, or James will nag me afterwards... Can you believe, he told me off for being one minute late?"

"You're kidding?" Sirius laughed.

"I'm not! But Kingsley says he's a bit nervous, you know. What with being the Captain and all that."

"He did look a bit nervous when he went down to breakfast today..." said Remus.

"Yeah. Talk to you later, okay? See you!" With that, Dorcas flew back down to the ground.

"Poor Prongs," Sirius muttered to the other two Marauders. James was shouting himself hoarse at the 3rd years, who didn't seem to be able to get onto their brooms.

"Mmm... He looks like he's having a bad time," said Peter. "Although it must be a cool feeling, being Captain of the Gryffindor team..."

"I guess..." Remus said thoughtfully. In fact, the position didn't appeal much to him. He enjoyed watching the matches, like everyone else, but he had never even considered joining the team. He was an alright-ish flier, as he had found out a match the Marauders had had a few summers back, in Prongs' back garden. Being on the team was a big responsibility, though. Not to mention the fact that he would have to miss practice once a month...

His thoughts were interrupted by Lily's voice. "We've got patrols tonight, haven't we?"

"Oh, er, yeah. It's Saturday, isn't it? So yeah, it's our turn," he confirmed.

"Ah, well... At least I don't have to patrol with Sev, it would have been so awkward... Or with Jeremy Edgecombe, he's a right nag..."

The meeting had been excruciatingly boring. Jeremy had droned on and on, barely letting anyone else speak. Lily had barely mentioned that they should be careful around the Astronomy tower, that being the place where Tim had supposedly been Imperiused.

Remus laughed. "I agree, he's so annoying! And patrols are boring as hell, we never find anything dangerous anyway..."

"No, it's usually just couples snogging in broom cupboards!" They both laughed.

"Hey, _they're_ not so bad!" said Robyn, watching the 4th years flying round the pitch. They were fast, and a few of them looked fairly strong.

"I bet Potter will pick one of them. One of the boys, probably. Look at the biceps!" Avril let out a low whistle.

"Well, you would notice those!" said Lily.

The 4th years finished, then came a couple of 5th years. They weren't bad either. The 6th years were better, flying fast around the pitch. When it was the turn for the 7th years, they also looked rather good. A few of the girls were a bit giggly, not taking it too seriously, but others looked like they wanted to be on the team. They flew well.

When the last one was back on the ground, James called out. "Okay, we're going to have a rest, everyone. Time for lunch, anyway. You, you, you..." he said, pointing at some of the people who had tried out, "...and you, can come back in half an hour for the rest of the tryouts. The rest, I'm sorry, you were quite good, maybe you should try again next year." He then motioned to the rest of the team to follow him to the changing rooms.

"Ah, well, looks like we can go and have lunch now," said Avril. "I'm starving..."

"We'll be coming back after though, won't we?"

"Yeah, of course. We've got to bring Dorcas some lunch, anyway."

"And some for Prongs. I bet he's really hungry, after all that shouting!" said Sirius.

"He looked exhausted..." Robyn agreed.

They made their way to the Great Hall, where everyone was already having lunch. Grabbing some bowls of pasta and cheese, they went back down to the pitch. A lot of Gryffindors had done the same, interested in what was going to be happening next.

In the changing rooms, the team were resting. They hadn't done much flying, but spending a whole morning standing on their feet on the Quidditch pitch was enough to tire anyone out.

"So, John, who do you think you'll vote for?" Dorcas asked pleasantly.

John thought about it for a minute. "I don't know, that little first year was pretty good, so probably her."

"You've got to pick first and second choice," James said, overhearing their conversation. He was interested in knowing the opinions of his teammates.

"Oh, er... My second choice would be the seventh year, probably."

"Right," said Dorcas, smiling at him. "He looked quite fast, didn't they?"

At that moment, her friends arrived, followed by the Marauders.

Sirius clapped James on the back. "Oh Captain, my Captain... How's it going?"

"Fine, fine..." James said, as Peter handed him his lunch. "Hopefully it'll be over in a few hours."

"I hope it is," Dorcas muttered to Lily, also taking her food. "We've been on the field for ages."

"Hear, hear," said Benjy Fenwick. "What are we going to be doing now, anyway?" Everyone directed their eyes towards the Captain, waiting for him to explain.

"Well, I just thought they could shoot a few goals, if Kingsley doesn't mind?"

"Fine by me," he said. "I'll be glad to be doing something, instead of just watching."

* * *

Around twenty minutes later, the students that James had pointed out were back, as was the crowd from before. James magnified his voice again. "So, what I want you to do is shoot at the goalposts. Kingsley is going to be Keeper, and you have ten attempts. Try and score as many goals as possible. You first," he said, gesturing towards one of the 4th years.

It was the guy with the big biceps that Avril had pointed out before. He mounted his broom, and flew up into the air.

"Mmm... Hot," Avril said.

"He certainly _looks_ impressive," Lily noted. He wasn't bad, either; he swung his arms so powerfully he scored 8 out of 10.

Then came the next, a 6th year girl who looked weak compared to the previous one. She was a fast flier, though, James remembered. Indeed she was, but barely managed to scrape 5 goals. She looked slightly disappointed.

After that came the 7th year John Bridge had thought might be good. He was, scoring a total of 8.

Lastly, it was the turn of the 1st year. She grabbed the Quaffle and hopped lightly onto the Cleansweep 5, speeding up into the air. James had been right: she was naturally good, almost as if it were an instinct to her. She had probably been flying all her life. She was incredibly fast, making sharp turns in a blink of an eye. Her main tactic was obviously trying to distract Kingsley: she wasn't strong, so a direct throw probably wasn't a good idea. However, she managed to score 7 over 10, and everyone applauded her.

Finally, James called out to everyone. "Okay, we're just going to take another ten minutes. Sorry to keep you waiting, but it's an important decision for the team. You guys, come inside," he said to the rest of the players.

They followed him into the changing rooms, and waited for him to speak. "Well, I think that was rather good. Time for the vote. You first, John."

"Well, as I said before, I think the first year was good. And, uh, the 7th year guy?"

"Okay, Kingsley?"

"Both girls. The older one was good, I just think she got a bit nervous."

"Benjy?"

"The fourth and seventh years. They scored the highest."

"Dorcas, what do you think?"

"The little girl, and the seventh year. They were both really good."

"Right..." said James thoughtfully. "Well, I think that settles it then; the first year and the seventh year both got three votes each. By the way, I won't tell them who voted for them or anything, it's probably for the best. So, let's go and tell them, yeah?"

They walked back outside, where the crowd was waiting for them to announce who had made it onto the team.

"I'm betting it's both girls," Avril said. "I mean, the team is made up mostly of boys, so it would only be fair..."

"The sixth year one was rubbish, though. She only got 5 goals," said Sirius, offering round a handful of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. Lily took a blackberry flavoured one, her favourite.

"We're proud to announce," James' magnified voice said, "that we've chosen the players for our team. They will hold the position of Chasers..."

"Oh, get on with it, Prongs," said Sirius, knowing full well his friend wouldn't hear him.

"...and their names are Aaron Jones and Summer Moxley!"

"Which ones are they?" Remus wondered. But it was soon obvious from the faces of the ones that got picked. Aaron Jones laughed as the crowd cheered, proud to be on the team, but Summer had a look of utter disbelief on her face.

"Right, so after a whole day of you guys just sitting here" James continued, "you can shift your lazy asses back to whatever homework you should be doing. See you at the first match!"

When everyone had gone, except for the rest of the team, he turned his voice back to normal, only to see Summer Moxley approaching him.

"Hey, congratulations, Summer!" he smiled at her.

"I... I'm really sorry, but I c-can't play on the team," she said in a really tiny voice.

"What? Why not? You were really good!"

"It's just... I only came to the tryouts with a friend, and I, um... didn't think I'd get on the team."

"So? What is it, don't you want to be on the team?" James asked her.

"It's just..." she whispered something, but it was too low for James' ears.

"What was that? Sorry, I can't really hear you..."

"I-I've never played Quidditch before," she said in a rush, blushing slightly. The other members of the team, who had been listening to the whole conversation, let out laughs of disbelief.

James just blinked at her. "You're actually being serious, aren't you?"

She nodded.

"How come you know how to ride a broom, then?"

"We had our flying lesson with Madam Hooch the other day."

"That's the first time you've flown?"

She nodded again. James couldn't quite believe what he was hearing. She had never ridden a broom in her life? But she was brilliant! She was fast, and she just seemed so confident in the air.

"Do you actually want to be on the team?" he asked.

"Yes, but-"

"Well, I don't see where the problem is, James," Kingsley said slowly.

"Me neither! I think she'd be great on the team!" Dorcas smiled at the little girl, who smiled back.

"Neither do I, actually," said James. "We can teach you the rules of Quidditch in our first practice, and then start from there. What do you think?"

She around at the team for a moment, then smiled. "I think that's a good idea."

All of them cheered, and they were celebrating the arrival of two new members to their team when Lily arrived. She was out of breath, her cheeks red; she'd obviously been running

"McGonagall says you'd better come quick," she told them. "There's been another attack."

* * *

**10 points to whoever got the ****_Dead Poet's Society_**** reference ;)**


	15. A Tale of Night Patrols

**Okay, so a BIG THANKS to everyone who has read this story, and and EVEN BIGGER ONE if you've reviewed! You're all brilliant and I love you :)**

* * *

"What?" It took a few seconds of silence for the team to react.

"That's what Professor McGonagall said." Lily looked nervous. "Th-that all Gryffindors should gather in the Common Room in around five minutes time."

None of them reacted, until Kingsley finally stood up. "What are we waiting for?"

The rest of them got up too, and they made their way quickly back up to the castle. The celebratory mood that they had been in only minutes before was gone. Walking through corridors and up stairways that were all completely deserted, they arrived at the Portrait's hole.

The Fat Lady looked at Lily. "You're a Prefect, aren't you? Do you know what's happened yet?"

"I've got no idea, sorry... Just that there's been an attack. Jellylegs." The Portrait swung open when she said the password, and they all clambered in.

The whole of the Gryffindor house was sitting in the Common Room, and looked up when they entered. Lily went to join her friends, who were sitting by the fire.

"What's happened, Lils?" Avril asked her.

"I don't know yet... There's been another attack... Professor McGonagall is going to tell us about it in a minute, I think."

They waited for her to arrive, and a while later she did. She looked around her, and began to speak. "I'm afraid to say there has been another attack on a student. As I am sure you all know by now, Mr. Vance was Imperiused when he assaulted Ms. Robinson with a knife. Well, this time the student who was Imperiused has tried to take their own life."

A gasp went up through the Gryffindors. "What?" "He tried to kill himself?"

"He is, however, still alive."

"Who is it?" someone asked.

"Dirk Cresswell," McGonagall said.

Another gasp: Dirk Cresswell was a 6th year, the other person to share the boy's dormitory with the Marauders. These four looked shocked, their eyes wide.

"Now, I wish to remind that no student will be allowed out of their dormitories or Common Rooms after eight o'clock from now on. We must take necessary precautions, and I think it would be wise if you went nowhere alone. Make sure you have at least one other person with you at all times. Prefects, with me."

Lily and Remus followed the professor to the other side of the room, as most people made their way up to bed.

"I understand that it is your turn to patrol tonight," she inquired. The two of them nodded. "Then be extremely careful, do not split up, and have your wands at the ready at all times."

"Professor, do we know who it is who's Imperiusing people?" Remus asked her quietly.

"As yet, no, but we are doing everything in our power to find out. Now, Mr. Cresswell was found at the top of the North Tower. He was about to take a step over the edge, but luckily he was caught in time."

"Do you... do you think it's because he's a Muggleborn?" said Lily.

Professor McGonagall gave her a glance. "Why would you ask that, Ms. Evans?"

"It's just, well... people have been saying... and Emmeline was Muggleborn..."

"Indeed. In any case, as we still do not know who the person behind this is, we can't yet know their reasons. You had better start your patrols now, hadn't you?"

Remus and Lily nodded, and Professor McGonagall left the Common Room with a swish of her cloak. They were both left alone, as most people had already gone up to bed.

"I'll go and get my coat," Lily said. "It looks like it's going to be cold tonight..."

"Me too."

They went up to their respective dormitories. Lily found the girls talking quietly from their beds.

"Hey, Lily... What did McGonagall say?"

"She said he tried to kill himself by jumping off the North Tower, but that he was under the Imperius curse at the time."

Her friends were silent for a moment, taking in the information.

"Why would anyone do that?" Dorcas finally asked. "I mean, Dirk's a nice guy... We were studying with him for our Transfiguration exam, remember?" They did, all of them except Angeline having been present at the time. The girls had spent an afternoon in the Common Room revising for their OWLs with him, and had found him to be rather pleasant, even though he wasn't particularly brilliant at Transfiguration.

"He's a Muggleborn, though, isn't he," Avril said darkly.

"That's not an excuse!"

"I'm not saying it's an excuse, just that that's probably the reason why he was attacked!"

"So you're saying him and Emmeline were both attacked because of their blood status?"

"It's not that improbable, you know," Lily said. "Attacks like these are happening outside the school too."

"Hogwarts is one of the safest places in the wizard world, though. With all the security, and the teachers, and Dumbledore..."

"It's meant to be... But that's two attacks we've had in a week, and it doesn't look like anyone knows who it was. If it carries on like this, all the Muggleborns will be dead by the end of the year," said Avril.  
She realized a second too late what she had just said, seeing the look of horror on Lily's face. "Oh, Merlin, Lily, I'm sorry! I didn't mean it like that!"

"No, it's-it's okay... I know you didn't mean it. It's just... What if you're right? What if Muggleborns are being targeted?"

"We don't know that..." Dorcas said nervously.

"But what if it is true?"

"The teachers will find a way to put a stop to it..."

"I hope so," Lily said. She grabbed her coat off the end of her bed. "I've got to go, don't bother waiting up."

"Be careful," said Robyn.

"I will." She walked back down the stairs to the Common Room, where Remus was waiting for her.

* * *

A few minutes before, Remus had walked into his own dormitory to find a similar scene to Lily's. His friends were still awake, sitting on their beds and talking to each other.

"...why Dirk, though?"

"Yeah, I mean it's not like he's a Muggleborns' rights activist or anything..." said James.

"You guys should get some sleep. I'm going out for patrols," Remus wandered around looking for his coat.

"If you think I'm going to sleep after what just happened..." Peter said with a shudder.

"Did McGonagall say anything new?" Sirius asked.

"Just that they found him about to step off the North Tower."

"What? Blimey... He's okay, though, isn't he?"

"I think so. He's still in the Hospital Wing, but that's probably just to be sure he doesn't show any side effects... I guess he'll be out in a day or two. Anyway, go to sleep. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

He left, but could still hear them talking as he made his way back down to the Common Room.

When Lily arrived, they walked out through the Portrait Hole into the deserted corridor. It was eerily silent, only lit by a couple of torches. The flickering lights threw shadows on the walls, making them jump at every step they took.

"This is so scary..." Lily whispered.

"I know," Remus said, also in a whisper. "It's okay when it's a normal night, but when you know there could be some nutter imperiusing people left right and center..."

"Oh, don't, you're freaking me out..."

"It's true, though, what McGonagall said. We should be careful." They looked at each other, and drew their wands at exactly the same time. "I think you were right."

"Right about what?"

"About him and Emmeline being attacked for being Muggleborns. It's the most probable explanation."

"Do you think so?"

"Yes. I wish I didn't, but why would they have been attacked otherwise? Both attacks are related to the Imperius curse... They were both targeted when there was no one else around... It's a pattern, isn't it?"

"Well, it's only been two attacks..."

"True, but you have to admit there are similarities between the two incidents," said Remus.

"Mmm... You're right..."

"I wish the teachers knew who it is behind the attacks though. Not knowing is what makes me nervous..."

Lily agreed with him. The fact that no one seemed to know who the attacker was made it all scarier. "They could be in the castle right now..."

They fells silent, and made their way down corridors, looking round corners worriedly. They opened up broom cupboards, which were usually where they found couples looking for a quiet place to make out. Tonight, however, there was not a single person in sight. For once, they had decided to abide the curfew, and were staying in their own dormitories. Lily was glad they had, for opening a broom cupboard to find two people snogging was always awkward.

They were walking down a 2nd floor corridor, when Remus stood completely still.

"What's wrong?" Lily asked him. "Remus, what's wrong?"

"It's... There's someone there," he said. Lily looked towards where he was staring, and saw that there was, in fact, a big dark figure at the end of the corridor.

She whipped her wand out, and whispered to Remus. "We'll go and see who it is, but carefully, okay?" He nodded, and they both started walking slowly forwards. They were surprised to see that the figure actually started to move towards them too, and even more surprised when, a moment later, they were able to make out the shape of Professor Slughorn.

"Uh, Professor?" Lily called out.

He jumped, and looked at them. "Oh, sorry, I hadn't seen you there. On patrols, are you?"

"Yes... What are you doing here, sir?" Remus asked him.

"I was going to, em... I was... Oh, I was going down to the kitchens, if you must know. I often get peckish at night," he said with an embarrassed smile.

"Ah... Well, that's okay then. We'll carry on patrolling, Professor." They started to walk away when he called after them.

"Oh, Ms. Evans, I was meaning to talk to you."

"Yes, sir?"

"I was thinking of holding a party next Saturday. I've invited some contacts of mine at the Ministry's, you might be interested. I've told them about you, of course," he smiled graciously.

"Oh, well thank you. I think I could make it..."

"Good, then I'll see you there at 6 o'clock on Saturday." He left, not bothering to acknowledge Remus. It was apparent from the turning he took that he was making his way down to the kitchens again.

"Have fun at the party, then," Remus said, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, I'm sorry about that. He is kind of rude to people he doesn't think are..."

"Good enough?"

"Well... yeah, really..." Lily said awkwardly. Remus laughed.

"I'm kidding, I don't actually want to go to any of his parties."

"They are kind of boring," she admitted, turning round a corner.

"Nah, I mean they sound alright, but just not my sort of thing. Will you actually go to this one?"

"Probably. He gets a bit offended if we don't go."

"Right. Prongs is going, by the way," said Remus.

"What? How come?"

"Well, he's from a big wizard family, isn't he? Related to all sorts of people."

"He hasn't been invited before, though..."

"Oh, and his dad just got promoted to Head of the Auror Department. That's probably it."

It made sense, actually. Professor Slughorn was interested in lots of different types of student: whether they were related to famous or important figures, or showed promising skills in a particular field...

Which was Lily's case. She had first been invited to one of these parties in 3rd year, when she had produced what Slughorn had called "the best Shrinking Solution he had ever seen". The parties were usually alright, although some of the people she had met there were a bit full of themselves. The food was always good, though.

But if Prongs was going, it would probably be rather awkward. They hadn't spoken much to each other since the Dark Creatures project was announced, and Lily wasn't planning on doing it any time soon. If only he would stop meddling in her life...

"You're rather quiet..." Remus said.

"Yeah, I just... I was thinking about Potter." The words had come out before she thought how that would sound.

"Oooh, Potter?" he laughed. "He'll be pleased to hear it. I might just tell him..."

"I was thinking he should stop butting into my life, actually. So if you want to tell him that, please do."

Remus sighed. "Look, Lily, he's just concerned about you..."

"He shouldn't be! He's not my boyfriend!"

"He'd like to be, though," he said. He looked at Lily, waiting for her reaction.

She kept her gaze fixed straight ahead, still walking. "I know."

"Then you can understand why he's curious about what happens in your life..."

"Again, he isn't my boyfriend. Even if he is just being kind, I'd appreciate if he didn't stick his nose into everything."

"Lily-"

"Don't "Lily" me! I've had enough of that boy, he's always getting on my nerves..." she muttered.

"Okay, but can you just listen to me one minute?" When she didn't say anything, he carried on. "James... he actually does like you. I know you think he 's annoying, and that he's always prying into your life, but that's only because he actually cares about you! And I'm not saying you should go out with him or anything – frankly, I wouldn't dare – but maybe you could give him a chance?"

"What sort of chance?"

"Maybe not shout at him every time he talks to you?"

"Oh, I won't. I mean, I'm going to have to do a year-long project with him, aren't I? It's not like I can be jumping down his throat every time he speaks."

"Great, that's a start." In all honesty, Remus had never understood James and Lily's relationship. Mostly, they didn't get on at all: the glares they shot each other where murderous, and their screaming matches in the corridors absolutely epic. But there were other times when he caught them glancing at each other... And there was no denying that James held Lily in the highest of esteems. "Lily... What do you actually think of James?"

"What do I think of him? How do you mean?"

"Just what your feelings are towards him, really..."

She was silent for a second or two as they looked into another cupboard. "I... To be honest, I don't really know. Deep down, I know he's a nice person: he's kind, he's funny, and even though he does no studying he's actually quite smart. Sometimes, I feel I could actually quite get to like him. But then he does something that annoys me unbelievably, like charming my breakfast to ask me out, or sticking his nose into my private business, and I can't even look at him without shouting at him!"

Remus took a moment to think about it. "So... it's not that you actually dislike him... he just annoys you sometimes?"

"Most of the time, actually... But yes, that's it."

"Then if James changed his attitude towards you, there is a chance that you two might be friends? Or at least, not enemies?"

"Yes, but you see, I wouldn't want him to change for me. It just wouldn't be fair to ask that of him."

"No... It wouldn't... Can I just say something else?"

"I've a feeling you're about to..." Lily sighed.

"James has actually changed a lot over the past years, you know. Especially this summer. He hasn't even pranked you once this year!"

"I had noticed that. Considering we've only been at school for six days, I don't think that's a cause for celebration..."

"No, but if he has stopped pranking you..."

"Why do you even want us to be friends? You're making such an effort for me to like him," said Lily.

"It's just... James is a good mate, you know. And whatever his faults, he does actually like you a lot. Oh, and the fact that you're always,_ always_ arguing is kind of irritating to everyone else's ears."

"Really?" She'd never thought of it like that before.

"Yep, really."

"Oh..."

"Does that mean that you'll give him a chance, then?" Remus asked tentatively.

"I guess I'll have to. You're quite convincing when you put your mind to it, Remus."

"Why thank you," he grinned. Then he yawned. "We've finished, haven't we? This is the last corridor we had to do."

"Yeah. Shall we go back?"

They did. The corridors were still dark and moody, but they were too tired to be bothered anymore. When they finally reached the Common Room, Lily gave him a hug. She was grateful for him having made her see James' point of view.

"Oh, by the way," Remus said as Lily started up the stairs, "I won't be able to do the next patrol. Sorry."

"How come?"

"I'm visiting my mum," he lied smoothly. He did not enjoy deceiving people, especially ones he felt he could probably trust, but it was necessary. "She's ill, you see..."

"Oh... That's okay... I'll just have to pair up with someone else, I guess. Sorry about your mum."

"Yeah." They parted, each to their own dormitory.

Remus was thinking of lycanthropy and the lies that went along with it, and Lily was trying to remember what day the next full moon was. When she realized it was next Saturday, the exact day Remus had just said he couldn't make, she went pale.

Severus had been so sure... but it couldn't be true.

Could it?


	16. A Tale of News and Sweets

**Again, thanks for the reviews, you lovely people! 3**

* * *

The next morning, Lily woke up with a sore neck. She had slept little and badly, and was exhausted. Rubbing her neck gently, hoping to soothe the ache, she looked around her. The rest of the girls were already gone, probably to breakfast.

Deciding to do the same, she got up and got dressed. She was actually quite hungry, and by the time she got down to the Great Hall she was even more so. She spotted her friends sitting at the other end of the table, and went over to join them. Avril and Dorcas were discussing a recent article in Witch Weekly, about the properties of some Love Potions. It sounded interesting enough to Lily, but she was distracted by a sudden fluttering of wings above them.

The post had arrived, in the shape of a thousand owls, of all the species imaginable. The usual owl with her Daily Prophet landed in front of her, but she was surprised when another owl did the same. It stuck out it's leg, letting her untie the letter there, then promptly flew off.

Lily looked at the letter, and was pleased to recognize her mother's handwriting. She opened it, and began to read.

_Dear Lily,_

_I hope this letter reaches you. As you know, I've never quite trusted this way of yours of sending your post by owl. _

_Things around here are quiet without you. I was only writing to tell you that Petunia is going to be getting married next summer. Yes, I know what you're thinking, she's only been seeing Vernon for a few months, but I actually think they're quite serious about the whole thing. In any case, Mr. and Mrs. Dursley are coming around for dinner tonight. _

_But anyway, enough about that, how are things at school? Are lessons alright? _

_I hope you're enjoying yourself. Dad sends you lots of love._

_Mum xxx_

"Hey, Avril, have you got some paper and a quill?" she said as she finished the letter. Her friends looked at her, wide-eyed.

"What?" Lily asked.

"I-It's nothing..." said Avril, hurriedly trying to cover something up.

Lily noticed, and grabbed the paper out of her hand. It was the Daily Prophet. "What is it?" She scanned the front page, and he eyes focused on the headline. "_**Dark wizard enters the Ministry of Magic, and accuses it of harming the wizard world**_- What the hell?"

"Carry on..." Robyn said, who hadn't read the article yet.

"**"Yesterday, the wizard who calls himself Lord Voldemort entered the Ministry of Magic, and headed for the Wizengamot. He there accused Edgar Bones, Minister for Magic of harming the wizard world. His exact words were that the Ministry was "not taking the necessary measures to get rid of Muggleborns" (For his whole speech, see page 3.) He also stated that if the Minister did not, then he would."** Okay, I've read enough," Lily said angrily, putting the newspaper down.

"Who the hell does he think he is?" said Avril.

"Have you read the article?" Sirius asked them, as he and the rest of the Marauders sat down next to them.

"Yes, but I wish I hadn't... It's put me off my breakfast..."

"Horrible, isn't it? I mean, what did this guy think he was doing, running into the Ministry like that?" Dorcas said.

"Crazy," said James. "There's such tight security there, I wonder how he did it..."

"It's not really the how, it's the why. Why would he risk arrest, just to tell the Wizengamot what they had to do? It's not like they'll take any notice of him, anyway..."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Sirius said darkly.

"What? You don't think they'll actually care what this guy thinks, do you?"

"There's a lot of people who think like him on the Wizengamot, my family included."

"Your family is on the Wizengamot?" Lily asked. It was news to her.

"Yeah, my parents and an uncle or two."

"Right... But surely most of them don't think like that... Do they?"

"To be honest, I'm not really sure. There's some Malfoys there, and everyone knows how they think... Some Mulcibers too... But there are also Prewetts, and Bones, and they seem kind of normal. So I don't really know what to think."

"The Prewetts are nice, they come round to our house every so often," James said. "Friends of my parents, you see. There's this guy, Bilius, he's a few years older than us, and at every party he jumps up on the table and starts pulling flowers out of his-"

"Okay, you can stop right there!" Lily said, as they all laughed.

"How much power does the Wizengamot have, anyway?" she asked.

"Well, they're kind of the highest of the high, apart from the Minister," Sirius said.

"They judge, they pass laws... That sort of thing," added James.

"Oh, right, I get why he went to speak there, then... If they can pass laws and stuff..."

"Yeah, but I doubt they will. I don't think he's got that much of a big following. Dumbledore's on it, too," James said, looking up towards the High Table.

The seat right in the center, usually occupied by the Headmaster, was empty.

"He's probably at the Wizengamot right now... Serious business, someone interrupting a meeting... Especially if they make accusations like these," Dorcas said, picking up the newspaper again. She looked through it, and read page number 3. "Apparently, he wanted to pass some sort of law where the Ministry could just call people in... and they had to prove their blood status... And another law where an employer can simply deny someone a job if they're not pureblood..."

"Seriously?" Remus asked her, looking over her shoulder.

"Yeah... This is awful... It says that some people tried to stop him speaking, though. Some witch called Griselda Marchbanks tried to Stun him..."

"Good on her!" said Sirius.

"But they pass a law like that, will they?" Lily wondered.

No one answered. No one could.

* * *

"Hey, Lily!" Remus called after her, as the girls made their way back up to the dormitory. Robyn wanted to carry on with her painting, Dorcas wanted to start reading a book Benjy Fenwick had recommended to her, and Avril just fancied lazing around.

"Hi, Remus! What's up?" She turned round.

"I was going to go and see Dirk Cresswell. He's in the Hospital Wing, and we could call in on him and see if he's alright. Want to come?"

"Yeah, no problem. See you later," she said to the rest of the girls. "Good luck with your painting, Robyn." They said bye to her, and Lily followed Remus in the opposite direction.

"I wonder if he remembers anything..." said Lily. "Tim didn't."

"I hope he does, but I'm not very hopeful about it. People often don't, when they're under the Imperius curse."

"No... But maybe where he'd been, or who he was with..."

They reached the Hospital Wing, and were about to knock when the door opened. It was Tim Vance.

"Hey, Tim," Lily greeted him.

"Hi! Feels good to be out at last, I was in there for way to long!" he said.

"Oh, you're out now? That's great!"

"Yeah... I stayed a day or two more, so Emmeline didn't feel too lonely. She'll be out tomorrow, but I couldn't stand another day there."

"I guess it must be a bit boring..."

"Too right it is! Come to see Dirk, have you?" Remus nodded.

"I won't keep you, then. See you around!" he said, and left.

They went into the Hospital Wing, and spotted Dirk Cresswell a few beds away from Emmeline. He was lying with his eyes closed, breathing heavily.

"He's asleep," Emmeline told them.

"How is he feeling?" Lily asked.

"I think he's okay... He was a bit confused, andMadam Pomfrey gave him a sleeping potion, but she said he'd be feeling better by tomorrow."

"Did she say when he might wake up?"

"Not to me, she didn't."

"Oh, right... Well, I think I'll go up to the dormitory, and come and see him tomorrow," Lily said to Remus.

"I think I'll stay. James, Sirius and Peter said they might come down in a bit, anyway."

"Right. Bye, then. Bye, Emmeline."

"See you, Lily," they said.

She made her way back up to the dormitory. Remembering the scene from the other day, she was afraid of what sort of paint explosion she might find, but was pleased to see the room was quite clean.

Robyn was painting in the middle of the room again, and barely looked up when Lily greeted her. She would often go into a state of deep concentration, and it was hard to get her to respond one she was in it.

Dorcas smiled at Lily as she walked in. In her hands she held the library copy of Quidditch Through The Ages.

"Good?" Lily inquired, sitting down next to her.

"It is, actually. Very interesting," she said.

"Oh, please, a book on Quidditch? I mean, watching the matches is one thing, but reading about it... Sounds very un-interesting to me." Avril had always been un-interested in Quidditch. Sports in general weren't really her sort of thing.

"Well, even if you don't like it, I think it's great. Really helps to understand the game. I might recommend it to Summer, it should help her a lot."

"It doesn't look like she'll need much help, flying the way she did yesterday," Lily remarked.

"I know, right? But can you believe, she's never actually played Quidditch in her life?"

"What? You're kidding!"

"No, I'm serious. She'd only ever flown on a broom a few days before the tryouts. You should have seen the look on James' face!" She laughed at the memory.

"Finished!" Robyn cried, taking a few steps back to admire her work. The girls looked at the canvas, and were quite shocked.

"Wow... Robyn, that's brilliant!"

"It's so realistic!" said Lily, standing up and walking closer. The painting showed the exact view they got of the grounds from the dormitory window. The big stretches of grass, the warped shape of the Whomping Willow, Hagrid's cabin, and extending on all the way to the horizon, the Forbidden Forest. It was beautiful, and Lily told her friend so.

"Thanks," Robyn said. "I wasn't quite convinced about the colour of the grass..."

"It's spot on!" said Dorcas in an admiring voice.

"Hey, when you're a famous artist, we'll be able to say we've met you, and that we saw you painting when you were fifteen years old. That'll be brilliant!" Avril said.

"I doubt that will happen... It's hard to make a living as an artist, you know..." Robyn let out a sigh. She knew it would be difficult for her to find a job in the art world.

"Yeah, but you're really good! You'll have no problem," said Lily, trying to encourage her friend. Inside, she was worried: not about Robyn, but about herself, however egotistical that made her sound. She had to start thinking about what she wanted to do. Yes, she had two years, but she had absolutely no idea what job she actually wanted. With a jolt, she remembered what Dorcas had read out from the paper that very morning. Voldemort had asked the Wizengamot to pass a law allowing employers to refuse the application of people like her for a job. It was improbable, but if that actually happened... She dreaded to think what her future would be like if it did.

* * *

At that very moment, Dirk Cresswell woke up in the Hospital Wing. It took him a moment to recognize his surroundings, but then the memories of the previous day flooded in. He groaned, and someone next to him cried out.

"And... he's awake! Welcome back, Dirk!" He recognized the voice as Sirius', and realized that he was there, with James, Remus and Peter.

"Ugh..." He groaned again, sitting up. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We came to see you. And to bring you these," James said, indicating towards a massive pile of sweets at the end of Dirk's bed. It looked like the whole content of Honeyduke's.

"Hey, where did you get those?" Dirk asked.

"A magician never reveals his secrets," Sirius smirked at the rest of the Marauders. The Map they had completed only the year before had proven to be useful on countless occasions, and this was one of them.

"Well, I'm not complaining!" said Dirk, reaching for a Chocolate Frog. Remus also helped himself to one.

"So, how are you feeling?" Peter asked him, after they had all had their fair share of sweets.

"I'm alright, actually... It was a bit confusing last night, but I don't remember having been hurt at any moment..."

"What do you remember?" said Remus.

"Not much... Standing at the top of the tower... And then there were teachers there... They were telling me to step away from the edge... Then they brought me down here, and Madam Pomfrey gave me a sleeping potion. That's about it, really."

"You don't remember who Imperiused you?"

"No, sorry."

"Ah, well, it's not your fault. We're just glad you're feeling okay." They smiled at him.

"I'd better get going," said Remus. "I've got Ancient Runes homework to do."

"Oh, you and your Runes." Dirk grinned. They all knew how much Remus enjoyed that subject.

"I've got homework to do too, actually," James said.

"Yeah, we'd better go. You get some rest, too. When are they letting you out, by the way?"

"No idea. I guess they'll tell me soon."

"Great, well, we'll see you soon. Might even bring you some more Chocolate Frogs, you never know," said Sirius.

"You guys have to tell me where you get them... There's no way you got to Honeyduke's and back without anyone noticing..."

The Marauders laughed, knowing that that was exactly what they'd done. They said goodbye to him, and headed back to their own dormitory.

"Ah, I'm glad he's feeling alright... Who fancies a game of chess?"

"Nah, you always cheat," said Peter.

"I do not!"

"Do so!"

"Do not!"

"Do- he does, doesn't he, Moony?"

"I'm staying out of this one," Remus said, laying back on his bed.

"I don't cheat, you're just a rubbish player!"

"I'm not!"

"Prove it, then."

"I will!"

And that's how Sirius managed to get his way.


	17. A Tale of Coloured Birds and Firewhiskey

**Thanks for all the reviews! You're so kind :)**

* * *

When Monday came around, Lily was looking forward to all her classes. If Avril had known, she would have laughed out loud in disbelief, but the truth was that Lily actually did enjoy her lessons. It was not like Muggle school, where all the subjects seemed equally boring. Hogwarts was a great place to study.

She got into the shower first, and then sat down by the window. There was about five minutes left before she had to go down to breakfast, so she had enough time to write back home.

_Dear Mum,_  
_Owls are a great way to send post! Fast, efficient... _  
_Really? And you think they're serious? I really hope they're not, Vernon is so annoying... And so boring, too, when he starts going on about that drill company he's going to be working in. Have a nice time with his family._  
_Lessons are good, as interesting as always. Professor Slughorn said I'm advancing loads in Potions. Oh, and he invited me to one of his parties. They're usually a bit boring, but he said he might introduce me to some people from the Ministry of Magic (basically where most of the jobs are)._

She wondered whether to tell her about the attacks that had been going on, but decided not to worry her. It was probably best if she didn't know.

_That's more or less it, really. Lots of love,_

_Lily._

"Hey, Lily, are you coming down to breakfast, or are you planning on staying up here all day?" Avril said.

They made their way down to breakfast, where they sat down right at the end. Lily was halfway through her third muffin, when the familiar fluttering of owl wings made her look up, reminding her that she had to post her own letter. The Daily Prophet was delivered to her, and she scanned through it. There were no new announcements, no comments on anything Dark Art related, so she decided to go down to the Owlery.

The air was cold, a thin chill blowing in the wind. She was thankful for her cloak, which she pulled tightly round herself as she walked through the ground.

She was surprised to find, once more, that Sirius was posting a letter too. She walked up behind him, and coughed discreetly. He spun round, but sighed in relief when he saw who it was.

"Merlin, you could have warned me..."

"I did! I coughed, didn't I? But if you wanted a warning it's because you're doing something you shouldn't," she said.

"I'm not... Just sending a letter." Lily hoped he would expand a bit on that, but he just turned round again, and tied the letter to the owl's leg.

"Who to?" she asked curiously.

"A... A friend."

"Then why are you so nervous?"

He looked at her, biting his lip. "I'm not."

"You so are. I've never seen you like this before, so... so... vulnerable."

At that, he laughed out loud. "Vulnerable?"

"Yes. You usually seem so sure of yourself, so cocky and arrogant-"

"Thanks, Lily-flower."

"Well it's true! You're never worried about getting caught pranking, so it can't be something like that..." A thought occurred to her. "It's not something dangerous, is it?"

"No. I can tell you that, it's nothing dangerous at all."

"Then what is it? Who is this "friend" that you don't want anyone to know about?"

"Just a friend, I promise..."

She paused for a second to tie her own letter to an owl's leg, and then said "Well, I'll just have to ask Potter, then."

The look of shock on Sirius' face confirmed Lily's belief that he was hiding something.

"Don't! Seriously, it's not a good idea..." he said nervously.

"He doesn't know either? I'm not kidding now: is it dangerous?"

"No, I just said, it's not dangerous..."

"Then why don't you want anyone to know?"

He sighed. "Look, I'll tell James soon, okay? And I'd tell you too, but I think he should be the first to know."

She considered it for a moment. "Sirius, I'm not asking you what you're up to just to gossip, it's because I was genuinely worried. It is my job, after all."

"So you're asking me this because you're a Prefect?"

"No, of course not! I'm asking you this as a person who's actually concerned, okay? So please tell James as soon as possible, and then if you want to tell me too, then you're welcome to. I'll listen."

He raised an eyebrow. "You wouldn't be such a bad psychologist, Lily-flower. Ever thought of taking that up as a job?"

"No, I haven't, but don't change the subject. Tell him, okay?"

"Yeah, okay..." He didn't sound too convinced, but if they didn't start moving now they would be late for Transfiguration. So they went back to the castle, and up to classroom 34. They separated, each to their own group of friends, but their thoughts were still on the conversation they had had only minutes before.

I seriously hope he's not up to something... Lily thought. He had seemed so worried. He had had a look in his eye that Lily had never seen there before: was it guilt? But why would he be guilty?

I can't tell him, Sirius realized as he laughed at a joke James had just made. It wasn't that he didn't want to tell him: he did, but... He couldn't. He was afraid, for once in his life, of what someone would think of him.

Professor McGonagall arrived, and they all piled into their seats. Classroom 34 was a particularly cold one in winter: it had no fire, and the windows let in a draught.

"Today we will be studying Bird-Conjuring Charms. Now, the most popular one..." The teacher began her explanation, while some students took notes and others tried not to fall asleep.

"Transfiguration is so boring," Avril yawned. They were sitting in the last row, and luckily Professor McGonagall wasn't able to hear her.

"Mmm..." Lily said. It seemed interesting enough to her, although she preferred Potions by far.

"Hey, Evans," a voice whispered from her right. She looked round, and saw it was James. "When are we going to start this Dark Creature project?"

To be honest, she hadn't thought about it. She nibbled on her lower lip, thinking of what time would be best to start it. "How about this evening?"

"Impossible, I've got Quidditch practice," he said.

"Tomorrow evening, then?"

"Yep, that's good. In the Library?"

"That's probably the best place, we can research well." Lily held the Library in high esteem. It always seemed to have the answer to every question, and had never once disappointed her. "See you there at five, then."

"See you," he said, turning back to his notes.

Well, that was an improvement, Lily thought, doing the same. Being civil to Potter wasn't actually so hard.

"Now, I want you to take out your wands, and practice this charm. You know the incantation, and the wand movement is as so," the professor demonstrated, moving her wand swiftly to the right, and then to the left. "You may start."

Lily took her wand out of her robes, and focused on the spell. Professor McGonagall had warned them of the chaotic results if it went wrong (severed heads, unidentifiable stumps, terrifying frog-rabbit mutations), and she didn't want it to end up like that.

"Avis," she said, moving her wand back and forth in an imitation of her teacher. A vague spurt of blue light appeared at the end of her wand, but no birds appeared. She sighed: this was going to be difficult.

Around her, her friends were having similar sort of problems. Avril and Dorcas had achieved nothing, but Robyn had managed to throw rainbow sparks in every direction.

"Agh, this isn't working!" she said, apologizing to those closest to her, who had jumped back at the sparks.

"Yeah, it's not an easy spell, is it?"

Lily tried again, and this time the blue light was a bit stronger, and lasted for a few more seconds. "Is that meant to happen?" she wondered.

The professor was passing by at that moment. "Yes, that is meant to happen. Try a little harder, Ms. Evans, and you'll get a result by the end of the lesson."

Lily smiled, and moved her wand around again. Was it her imagination, or had she just hear a rustling of wings? She tried once more, and suddenly a bird appeared amidst the blue light. It looked surprised, in Lily's opinion, to find itself in the middle of a class, but flew up to the ceiling and looked around from there.

"Hey, did you see that?" Lily asked her friends excitedly.

"Yeah, that was great! I'm going to try!" Dorcas said. A minute later, a flock of canary yellow birds had joined Lily's.

By the end of the class, the tweeting was so loud that Professor McGonagall had to cast a Silencing Charm over them. The floor was littered with multi-coloured feathers, so Remus and Lily had to stay after class to clean up.

"Oh, the joys of being a Prefect!" said Remus.

"I know... We always get the worst jobs..."

"Mind you, we do have the special bathroom!" They laughed loudly. It was a common joke among the Prefects about having such a bathroom just for them. They occasionally had their meetings there, all of them dressed in swimsuits, for a laugh.

"Well, I think we're finished here," Lily said as she vanished the last traces of feathers off the floor.

"Yep. We've got Herbology next, so we'd better make a move on."

They did so, moving through the castle a little faster than usual. As they were walking through the Entrance Hall, Remus smiled at Lily.

"By the way, you were okay with James before. Just wanted to say."

Lily smiled back. "Well, I can actually be nice to people if I put my mind to it..."

"No, I don't mean like that," Remus laughed. "But I know how much effort you're putting in to be nice to James in particular..."

"Oh, it's not that much of an effort... When he's not pranking me, or sticking his nose into my life, or creeping up on me from behind..."

"That's actually a habit of his, I wouldn't take it personally."

"Really?"

"Yeah, he does it all the time... I used to think it was really creepy, but you get used to it in the end."

"Right... But yeah, if he's not doing any of those things, he's actually not so bad."

"Well, the pranking thing... He hasn't pranked you at all this year, has he?"

Lily shook her head.

"At least that's something, isn't it?"

"True..."

They reached the greenhouse, where the class was already clustered round the table in the center. Remus went over to Professor Sprout to apologize for them being late, and Lily went to join her friends.

"Had fun cleaning?" Avril said, winking.

"Er, what was that wink meant to signify?" Lily was confused.

"Oh, nothing, nothing..." her friend replied, not bothering to conceal her smirk.

"Why are you laughing, then?"

"Who, me?"

"Don't act all innocent, you're laughing at something... What? Have I got a feather in my hair or something?" She raked her fingers through it, seeing if a feather would fall out.

"It's nothing like that, Lily," Dorcas reassured her.

"Then what is it?"

"Uhm..."

"Well, you've been seeing a lot of Remus lately," said Robyn. "And Avril seems to think you'd make a good couple."

"What?" Lily cried. A few people around stared at her. "I don't fancy Remus!" she added in a whisper.

"Why are you spending so much time with him, then?" said Avril.

"He's a good friend. Just a good friend."

"Mmm, yeah, that's what everyone says at first..."

"Look, I don't fancy Remus, and I never will. Anyway, I don't think he's even interested in dating."

"Why not?" Avril asked her. It was news to her that anyone could be "not interested" in dating.

"I don't know, he just doesn't seem to be bothered about it."

"I wonder why..."

"Well, if you're that curious, I can ask him next time I'm with him," Lily said sarcastically.

"Oh, do. I'm quite interested in knowing, now."

Lily sighed. Avril was such an insufferable gossip... Which was strange, because she rarely told people about her life. She could give tons of advice on other people's problems, but rarely asked for help with hers. It was just the way she was, Lily supposed.

* * *

That evening in the Common Room, Lily tried to concentrate on her homework. There were a couple of first years who were obviously new to all this "studying" thing. As a Prefect, she could have easily told them to be quiet, but to be honest, she really couldn't be bothered.

She was tired, and what was the point? What was the point in anything? She didn't even know what job she was studying for! And even if she had, she wouldn't get the job... Nobody would give a job to a Muggleborn...

She stood up, and decided to go for a walk in the grounds. Better still, she thought, how about going to see Dorcas while she trained? Her friend would like it, and it would clear Lily's mind.

She grabbed her coat off the chair next to her, and went out to the grounds. The wind blew her hair across her face, her warm breath making clouds in front of her. Her thoughts went back in time, back to when she used imagine she was a dragon puffing smoky breath. She smiled at the memory.

High up in the air, also feeling the harsh wind against her face, Dorcas spotted her friend walking towards her. James had told them to lap the pitch a few times, but he was busy talking to Benjy Fenwick now, so she swung her broom round and zoomed towards Lily.

"Hey, Lils! How come you're done here? Weren't you doing your homework?"

Her friend sighed. "I couldn't concentrate. Bloody first years, nattering away in the Common Room."

"I know," Dorcas laughed. "They never seem to shut up!"

"How's practice going, then?"

"Oh, we haven't done much yet. James was explaining all the rules of Quidditch to Summer... She picked it up quite quickly actually."

"Is that her up there?" Lily pointed towards a lithe figure that was hovering high above them.

"Yes, that's her. She is so good... There's no way we're loosing the Cup this year."

Lily hoped that would be true: the previous year, Gryffindor had come third. Slytherin had won. "Well, I'm going back up to the castle, it's freezing down here. I just came down to clear my head a bit."

"Okay, then. I'll see you later, yeah?"

Lily said goodbye, and turned back towards the castle. She didn't notice the Captain of the team looking at her from above. How is she so perfect? he wondered. How is it even possible? Her hair whipped back and forth behind her as she walked.

There were times when James wished he could do anything, absolutely anything, to just impress her. Not even to impress her like, "impressively", but simply to show her that he wasn't such a bad person as she thought he was.

Mind you, the exchange they had had in Transfiguration hadn't been so bad. At least she seemed to tolerate him now. Why, though? Why was she always changing her attitude towards him?

* * *

Hours later, his muscles sore and freezing cold, James entered his dormitory. The other three Marauders were there, and he flopped back on his bed.

"How was it?" Remus asked him, not looking up from his homewrok.

"Good, but exhausting," said James, closing his eyes.

"How was the little kid? Autumn, or whatever her name is," Sirius said.

"Her name is Summer, and she was great. She just gets Quidditch, you know what I mean?"

"Not really, but we'll pretend you do to make you happy."

James threw a pillow at Sirius. "I mean, she's just really into it. She understands it." He lay back down on his bed, trying to rest. He was aching all over, when a thought occurred to him. "She's so weird..."

"Who is?" Peter said absentmindedly, trying to look over Remus' shoulder at his essay.

"Evans."

"Oh, not again," Sirius sighed.

"She hates me, doesn't she? But if she hates me so much, then why does she sometimes act like I'm not so bad?"

"I wouldn't say she hates you..." said Remus.

"Then why can't she stand me talking to her for more than a few minutes?"

To that, none of them had an answer. Sirius left the room suddenly, but James didn't even notice. He was too deep in self-pity and confusion towards Lily's attitude.

"Why? What have I done?"

Remus thought it was probably not a good time to remind him of all the pranks he had pulled on her, so instead said "Look, James, what you should do is just try to get along with her. And you'll be spending time with her doing the project, won't you? So that's good."

"Not if she hates me it's not..."

"She doesn't hate you, she just... gets a bit annoyed with you."

"Very annoyed..." James sighed.

Remus was about to reply when Sirius burst back into the room, a bottle of Firewhiskey in his hand. He passed it to James, who simply looked at him.

"It's for you, go on, take it," said Sirius. "It'll help. But go easy on it, yeah? We've got class tomorrow."

James looked at the bottle. "Where did you get this?"

"My secret store," Sirius smirked.

"You've got a secret store of Firewhiskey?" Peter looked shocked.

"Yep.

"Where is it?"

"There's no way I'm telling you! I don't want you three getting _too_ drunk, do I."

James sighed, and then took a swig. The liquid burnt his throat, making him gasp. "This... is strong."

Sirius laughed, but Remus went over to his friend and took the bottle from his hands. "You'll thank me for that when you have to get up tomorrow morning," he said, patting James on the back.

"Ah, Moony, you know it'll help him!" said Sirius.

"Maybe now, but not in the long run."

"Whatever... I'm going to sleep anyway. Night, you lot."

"Night," James said as he went to have a shower. The Firewhiskey had had an instantaneous effect on him: his thoughts had a certain cloudiness about them, and everything seemed slightly blurry.

Sirius watched him from where he lay. He sighed, knowing that his friends problems were not to be solved with a mouthful of Firewhiskey. He thought it might help, though, at least for tonight.

Lily was constantly on his friends' mind. Rather like... But what was the point of thinking of that now?

Minutes later, he was fast asleep.


	18. A Tale of Sirius Black

At that moment in his life, Sirius Black had secrets.

He had grown up in a house full of secrets: illegal objects that were bought in dark alleyways, the fact that half his family tree were married to each other... All that was kept a secret, or at least, it was never spoken of. He had grown used to it, but those were secrets that did not affect him. Anything that had to do with his family did not affect him.

The three secrets that he kept now did, however. They were of great importance to him. And all of them would be found out by at least one person before the end of the year, although that had not been his intention.

His first secret was where he kept his stack of Firewhiskey. Only he knew where that place was, and it would be discovered by Avril Diggory.

His second secret was buried so deep in his mind that even he himself barely acknowledged it: without his three best friends, he would have turned out very differently. He would have definitely turned out a lot worse. If he had not met James Potter on his first day at Hogwarts, he might (just might) have been sorted into a different house entirely. He would have not have had the influence of the Marauders. He would not have become an Animagus. He would not have known everything there was to know about the secret passage-ways in Hogwarts. He owed who he was at that moment to his friends, and he knew it. There was no reason to keep that a secret, but he still did. That would be found out by James Potter and Lily Evans, at different times.

His third (and last) secret was that he was in love.


	19. A Tale of Starting the Project

The next day, which happened to be a Tuesday, Lily woke up with a single thought on her mind: who was she going to take to Slughorn's party with her?

You were expected to take someone with you, as she had found out the first time she had gone to one of these parties. She had gone on her own, and at least half of the people there had asked her who she had come with. It was a bother, having to find someone that would go with her, but that wasn't boring. You were also expected to take someone of the opposite sex, and that was what annoyed Lily the most. Why couldn't she just go with Avril, or another one of her girl friends? It would be so much easier...

But no, she had to find a boy who would come to the party with her, and her time was running out.

It wasn't like there were no boys in Hogwarts who would go with her, but they were just so... (and Lily felt bad using this word for _all_ of them) immature. Remus was probably the most mature for his age, and at least you could have a decent conversation with him. But hadn't he said yesterday that he thought those parties were boring? Which probably meant he didn't want to go. She didn't really want to put him on the spot, but...

She decided that if she hadn't found someone by the end of the day, then she would ask Remus. At least she wouldn't be bored with him. And they could go as just friends, which was a good thing. Frankly, if she asked any other boys they would probably assume she was asking them out on a date.

* * *

The day went by slowly, as did the lessons. During lunch, Lily looked around at the boys. She didn't really mind what House they were in, so long as they could keep the conversation going for an evening. There were plenty of boys who were nice, and good looking, but none of them really attracted her.

It was going to have to be Remus, then.

As she and her friends were walking into the Common Room after lunch, she spotted him over at the far table. His head was bent over a piece of parchment, and he was scribbling fast.

"Hey, Remus. Homework?" she said, sitting down next to him.

He looked up and smiled warmly at her. He had a nice smile, she noticed. "Yeah... Charms."

"Oh, right. I haven't even started that yet. I guess I should, but I can't really be bothered right now. Well, I wanted to ask you, um, would you come to Slughorn's party with me?"

Remus' eyebrows shot up in surprise, and Lily added quickly "Just as friends, of course."

"Oh, right," said Remus, obviously relieved. "Uh, yeah, I'd like that. When's the party?"

"Saturday evening."

"This Saturday?" a frown crossed his face, but was unnoticed by Lily, who was just happy that he had said yes.

"Yep."

"I'm sorry, Lily... I don't think I can make it. I'm visiting my mum..."

"True, you told be about that the other day! Shit..."

"I'm really sorry..."

"Oh, it's not your fault, it's just it's a bother having to look for someone else. Ah, well... I'd better leave you to get on with your homework, then. I hope your mum is okay."

"Thanks..." he said miserably. Lily went away, and Remus was left thinking about it all.

It wasn't fair. He would have enjoyed going to the party with Lily, they would have had a great time together. Instead, he would spend the whole Saturday feeling terrible, and at night... But it was no use thinking about that now, so he tried to push it out of his mind. Instead, he wondered who Lily would ask next.

She was wondering exactly the same thing. Who the hell was she going to ask now? Okay, calm down, she told herself. She still had until Saturday to think who she was going to ask out. That meant one, two, three, four days.

She looked at her watch: it was five o'clock, so there was still part of today left too... Five o'clock? What did that remind her of? She suddenly remembered. She was meant to be meeting James in the Library at this exact time!

She rushed up to the dormitory, grabbed some parchment and her quills, and rushed out. Avril, Dorcas and Robyn, who were lounging around there, looked at her as she went.

"Ah, she's got to meet up with Potter, hasn't she?" said Avril.

"True... I wonder how that will go."

"I hope it goes well," Dorcas smiled.

"Oh? How come?"

"They're my ship," she added with a grin.

"Ship? What are you talking about, Dorcas?"

"A ship as in a boat?" Robyn asked her.

"No... A ship... It's like..." Dorcas struggled to explain. "It's when you want two people to be together, because you think they'd make a good couple."

Avril blinked. "So you think Lily and Potter would make a good couple?"

"Yeah, they'd be so cute together! And James fancies her like hell already."

"That's true, actually. Do you see the way he looks at her?"

Dorcas squealed, obviously overcome by all her feels.

"You are so crazy..." said Robyn, rolling her eyes.

"Mark my words, they'll end up together," Dorcas said solemnly.

"Do you think so?"

"Yes. Anyone want to bet?"

"I've had enough betting for a lifetime..." said Robyn. "If I lose with Angeline... I don't even _have_ 50 galleons!"

"I'll bet 10 galleons they don't end up together," Avril said.

"15."

"Okay, 15, then. I say they'll be together by the time we leave Hogwarts."

"That's a deal." They shook hands.

* * *

Lily entered the Library with flushed cheeks from running. She had never been a sporty type after all, but she didn't think she was _that_ unfit...

She looked around, and spotted James at one of the tables, so she made her way over there. Her footsteps echoed in the silence that hung in the room. Madam Pince looked over at her haughtily.

"Sorry I'm late," she whispered as she sat down next to him.

"That's alright, Evans. I'm just glad you came, it would have ruined my reputation to be seen sitting here alone," he joked.

She smiled. "So, are we going to start, then?"

"Fine by me. Where do we start?"

"Well, we're doing Boggarts... How about we start by writing down everything we know about them?"

"Like a brainstorm?"

"Yes, exactly."

James thought for a moment or two, raking his memory for information he had learned a while back. It had been in 3rd year when they had studied Boggarts, wasn't it?

"Boggarts are shape-shifters, which means... they change their form. And they change into whatever your worst fear is. So if you're scared of dragons, it will look like a dragon. But it wouldn't actually be a dragon, it would just look like one," he remembered.

"Right... And they don't have the powers that the thing they transform into has, do they?" Lily said, writing down what James had just said.

"I don't think they do, no... How about we just look for some books, and write down everything we find? Then we can chose what we think is most interesting or whatever," he suggested.

"Okay, good idea. I'll go look down there," said Lily, gesturing towards some shelves.

"Right, I'll go see if they've got anything over the other side."

They went in different directions, and scanned the shelves. There were thousands of books in the Hogwarts Library, so it was a while later when they both went back to their seats.

"Well, here's what I've got," said James, showing Lily a pile of books he had left on the table.

"I found these," Lily also gestured to a high pile.

They sighed. The amount of books they had found between them would take ages to read through.

"We'd better start," said Lily, picking up the first book off James' pile. James watched her eyes flit across the words, her hands deft and gentle as she passed a page. In his eyes, there was nothing more beautiful in this world.

Lily had a vague feeling he was watching her, and looked up. The expression on his face was intense, almost too much so. She coughed and raised an eyebrow, and he blushed.

"It says here that Boggarts are "amortal". What's amortal?" she asked him.

"No idea. Maybe it will say later on."

She kept reading, and indeed found a paragraph with an explanation. "_Amortality is the condition of never having died and being unable to die, as an amortal entity was never alive to begin with._ So Boggarts aren't alive?"

"Looks like they're not," James remarked. He wrote it down on the parchment.

"Listen to this: _other amortal beings are Dementors and Poltergeists_. So Peives isn't alive either?"

James was busy writing what she was saying, so she carried on reading. "_In Celtic mythology, a boggart (or bogart, bogan, bogle or boggle) is a household spirit, sometimes mischievous, sometimes helpful._ So Muggles don't always think Boggarts are dangerous... Strange."

"Maybe they're not harmful to Muggles?"

"Maybe... _Boggarts are particularly fond of inhabiting dark, confined spaces, such as in wardrobes, the gap beneath beds, and the cupboards under sinks and desks. On at least one occasion, a boggart has been found hiding in a grandfather clock._ That's useful to know."

"Oh, yeah, my parents found one in the shed in our back garden. They didn't let me see it, though. I was only about six."

"Really?" Lily was impressed.

"Yeah... I would have liked to have seen it actually, I was really curious about everything at that age. I was the kind of annoying kid that never stops asking questions..."

"Mmm..." said Lily, remembering when he had asked her about Petunia and her other worries.

He looked at her, knowing exactly what she was thinking. "I'm sorry about the other day. I should learn not to be so nosy..."

"No, it's alright. You were only being nice. I overreacted, sorry."

They were silent for a moment, and then James remembered something. "Hey, what do you think would happen if there was someone who was afraid of the dark?"

"What?"

"Someone walks up to a Boggart..."

"That sounds like the beginning of a joke," she said. James laughed.

"No, but someone who's afraid of the dark walks up to a Boggart, what would the Boggart change into?"

Lily thought about it, biting her lip gently. James watched her. Merlin, she was sexy... He stopped that train of thought right there. It was probably better for both of them.

"I don't know, actually," she said slowly. "Maybe it would turn into a patch of darkness?"

James laughed. "That wouldn't be scary at all!"

His laughter was contagious. "I know, but what would it do otherwise?"

"Maybe we could ask Alexander," James suggested.

"Okay. He'll be in his office now, won't he? We could ask him now."

They got up, picked up their things, and exited the Library. It was a surprise to both of them that being together was not awkward, as they had expected, but actually quite pleasant. They walked along until they reached the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher's office. Lily knocked.

"Come in," said a muffled voice from the inside. Lily pushed open the door, and they both stepped inside.

It was a warm-looking room. There was a big fireplace, and an orange sofa sat next to it. At the other side, a wooden desk was piled high with parchments, ink bottles and quills. But what impressed them most of all (especially Lily) were the bookshelves. Every wall was covered in them, crammed full of books.

"Ms. Evans, Mr. Potter," Alexander greeted them. He was sitting on the sofa, and gestured for them to join him.

They sat down comfortably, looking around them.

"Nice office," James noted.

"Thank you. Now, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" he asked in mock solemnity.

"Well, we were wondering..." Lily started. Now they were here, the question seemed slightly absurd. She looked at James and they both burst out laughing. The professor looked at them, amused.

When the laughter had passed, Lily began again. "We started our project today, you see. It's about Boggarts, and we were wondering: what would happen if a Boggart came across someone who is afraid of the dark?"

He looked from one to the other. "What would happen if a Boggart came across someone who is afriad of the dark?" he repeated.

They nodded.

"Okay, I'm going to tell you a story," he said. Lily and James looked at each other, but didn't say anything. "Once upon a time there were two young students who believed teachers had the answer to everything. They were wrong. The end."

"What?"

"That's the story."

James grinned. "You mean you don't know what would happen if a Boggart came across someone who was afraid of the dark?"

"I have absolutely no idea. Sorry. I suggest you try and find out yourselves. Ask others who have more experience than me, look in books... As you can see," he said, gesturing at the bookshelves, "I hold books in the highest of esteems."

Lily smiled. "Quite right to. Well, I think we'd better be off, we've wasted enough of your time as it is."

"Oh, not at all. You're welcome to come any time you like."

"Thanks," said James. "We'll go and carry on with our project."

They left the room, and walked back towards the Library.

"So he doesn't know. That's a pity," Lily said.

"Yeah... I thought he would, what with him being a teacher."

"Teachers, apparently, don't know everything," James said with a grin.

"No. He's rather mad, isn't he?" Lily realized.

"Yes, but I think he's also rather brilliant. He's a good teacher, at least."

"Mmm..."

"Hey, how about we do something else?" said James suddenly. "I don't fancy doing homework right now."

Lily looked at him. He was so spontaneous, and that was something she liked in a person. "Okay then."

"What shall we do? What do you fancy doing?"

"I don't mind. What do you want to do?"

He thought about it, and then a smile crept onto his face. "I want to go and fly."

"What?"

"How about we go and fly round the Quidditch pitch for a while?"

"I... I don't have a broom."

"We can use one of the school ones. I'm a Captain, I'm allowed to take them out whenever I need them. And I think I really do need it right now."

Lily bit her lip. "Uh, I don't think that's a good idea..."

"Why not?"

"I... The last time I was on a broomstick was in first year. In that lesson Madam Hooch gave us," she muttered.

"Really?" He was amazed. "You haven't flown since then?"

"No..."

He paused for a second, then grinned widely. "Well, that's about to change. Come on!" He grabbed her hand and started running. She had no choice but to follow him, half-running, half-laughing.

When they got outside, the cold wind rushed against against their faces, but they hardly felt it. They ran towards the broom hut, where everyone stored their brooms. James unlocked it, and handed out one to Lily.

"That's my one, but it's a really good one, so it'll be good if you're a beginner."

"Thanks," she said, holding the broom tightly.

"No problem." He took one of the school brooms, and locked the hut up again.

They walked out onto the pitch, the wind forcing them to shout if they wanted to be heard.

"Right, do you remember what we learned in Madam Hooch's class?" James yelled.

"Yes!"

"Okay, then let's do it!" He got on the broom with an agility that Lily was not able to imitate. She felt nervous, excited, ready to go... And go they did: once they had climbed on, both brooms lifted up into the air. Lily's went slowly, but she laughed as her feet left the ground. She went higher and higher, lifting right into the air.

"When you're ready to go," James shouted, laughing at the excited look on Lily's face, "just lean forwards!"

She took a deep breath, and leaned forwards slightly. Suddenly, she was zooming through the air, faster than the wind, faster than anything she had ever felt before. She was flying! She whooped in delight, and heard James laughing beside her. He was flying next to her, leaning forwards on his broom.

"Race you round the pitch!" he said.

She grinned, and leaned forward even more. The air whipped past, flushing her cheeks and dashing her hair behind her. She could see the ground a long way beneath her. This was beautiful!

They raced for ages, James beating her by a second every time. He was so fast... She had seen him fly countless times before, and was impressed even then, but this? This was different: he flew round the pitch like he was meant to be doing it, like he belonged in the air.

Hours later, back on the ground, Lily noticed that he had a different way of moving when he wasn't on a broom. Not clumsy, exactly, but not as graceful as in the air.

James noticed her looking. "It's rude to stare, you know."

Lily blushed. "Oh, I'm sorry..." she was about to say, when she realized he was joking. They both laughed.

"That was the best fun I've had in ages," she said. "Thanks."

"We should repeat it sometime. Maybe when there's better weather."

"Yeah, that would be nice," she smiled.

They walked back up to the castle slowly, with no hurry. They talked, laughed and joked, and she felt more comfortable with him than she had in ages.

It was when they were almost in the Great Hall, where supper was already served, that an idea clicked in Lily's mind.

"Hey, are you going to Slughorn's party on Saturday?" she asked him hopefuly.

"I wasn't thinking of it... Why?"

"Oh, no particular reason... I just... Well, I thought... since we've had a nice time today..."

"What?" he asked, but he already knew where this was going.

"I wondered... Oh, do I have to say it?"

He grinned at her.

She sighed. "Do you want to come to Slughorn's party with me?"

"That would be the greatest of pleasures. Meet you at six o'clock in the Common Room?" he said, a twinkle in his eye.

"Yeah, meet you there," with that, they each went to join their friends. What they didn't realize is that they both wore identical smiles on their faces.

"How was it?" Avril asked her as she sat down.

Lily blushed unconsciously. "Oh, it was good."

"Why are you grinning?" said Robyn.

"I'm not," Lily said, grinning.

Dorcas shot a look at Avril. It seemed obvious to her who was going to win the bet.

* * *

**Things are starting to come together with Lily and James... So, what did you think? Please review!**


	20. A Tale of A Party and Blackberry Pie

When Saturdy afternoon came around, the 6th year Gryffindor dormitory was in a state of complete chaos.

There were clothes everywhere, on the beds, draped over chairs, littering the floor... There were also about half a million shoes scattered about.

"What the hell am I supposed to wear?" Lily cried in desperation.

Her friends sighed. She had been like this all afternoon. Lily was not into fashion, or clothes, or make-up, or anything like that, and seemed completely lost.

"Look, if you want a dress or something, I can lend it to you," said Avril. She had a lot more dress clothes, for unlike Lily, she was interested in fashion.

"Will you really? That would be really kind... But what if they don't fit me?"

"Well, you can try them on, anyway." She stood up and opened her wardrobe. It was crammed full of clothes, which she riffled through. "Mmm, too big, too dressy... yes, this one... that one is too frilly... this one is good... no, that will clash with your hair... yes, no... this one maybe..." She turned round and handed her friend an armful of dresses.

Lily went into the bathroom (the only place with a mirror), and closed the door. She leaned against the sink, sighing.

Why was she so nervous? It was only a party, for Merlin's sake... Who was she so desperate to impress? She knew the answer to that question. James Potter.

But why? He was just a friend, and not even that: until a couple of days ago she had hated his very existence. It wasn't like she always tried to impress guys, it was a new feeling.

She tried on the first dress, which was beautiful, but way too short. "Avril, I cannot believe you have dresses this length!" she cried so her friend would hear her. She heard a muffled chuckle from the other side of the door.

The next one was a pretty pink, but clashed with her hair. She would probably blind anyone who saw her.

The next one...

And the next one...

And the next one...

She tried on another one, rather desperate now. She looked in the mirror, and was surprised by what she saw. The dress was beautiful, of a brilliant turquoise. It contrasted with her hair, but this time in a good way.

"Mmmm... I like it," she muttered to herself. She stepped back into the dormitory.

"Wow, Lils, you look drop-dead gorgeous!" said Avril.

"Yeah, you look so good!"

"Thanks," she smiled. "And thanks for the dress, Av."

"You're welcome. Hey, I've got some high heels that would go perfect with it..."

"That's really nice of you, but whenever I wear heels I end up falling flat on my face. I think it's best if I just stick to these," she said, picking up some ballet flats.

"Oh, yeah, they'll look good too! Anyway, if you feel safer wearing those, it's probably best."

"Do you want me to do your make-up for you, Lils?" Robyn offered. She was brilliant at it, although rarely bothered doing her own.

"Yeah!"

Lily sat down on Robyn's bed, who fetched her make-up case. It was crammed full, and she set it on the bed next to them.

"Okay, hold still..."

A few minutes later, she was ready to go. It was five minutes to six, so she decided to go down and wait for James in the Common Room.

* * *

In the boys dormitory, contrasting against the girl's cheerful mood, there was almost complete silence.

Remus was lying back on his bed. He was exhausted, and yet he had not moved from there all day. His head was pounding, his whole body ached, and he was not looking forward to the night at all.

Unlike James, who was admiring himself in the mirror. He was wearing dark jeans and a white shirt, a tie slung casually around his neck. He had high hopes for the evening.

The moment he turned around, he felt the guilt washing over him: the sight of Remus just lying there was too much for him.

He walked over to him, and sat down on the bed, careful not to jolt him too much.

"Moony...?"

Remus groaned. "Yeah?"

"I'm really sorry I'm not going with you guys tonight. Seriously, I do want to, but..."

"But you're going out with the girl of your dreams," said Remus, opening his eyes and looking at James. "Look, you don't have to explain, I can understand. Anyway, these two are coming, it shouldn't be a problem."

"Yeah, we can handle him," said Sirius. "You go off with Evans. Have fun, okay?"

James grinned, waved farewell, and went down to the Common Room. He looked around, and his heart missed a beat when he saw her standing there.

"Merlin, Evans, you look... amazing."

She smirked. "Which isn't at all typical to say to a girl when you're going with her to a dance..."

"Forgive me... You look astounding, impressive, beautiful, stunning, incredible-"

"Okay, okay, I get the picture," she said, blushing. "You don't look to bad youself."

They smiled at each other, and made their way to the party. It was in Slughorn's office, and as soon as they got there it was obvious it had been magically expanded. It was the size of a small ballroom, and decorated with gauzy hangings in bright colours.

The moment they stepped inside, Professor Slughorn approached them.

"Ms. Evans, Mr, Potter," he greeted them gracefully. "Oh, you've come together? Good, good... Ms. Evans, I was meaning to introduce you to... Well, you probably know who she is already. Bathilda, this is Lily Evans, one of the best students in this school."

Next to the professor was an old woman, tastefully dressed, with a kind expression on her face. She shook Lily's hand as Professor Slughorn went to greet another acquaintance of his.

"Horace has been telling me so much about you. You seem to be a brilliant student."

Lily blushed. "He probably exaggerated..."

"Oh, I don't think so. He's not really like that. He only gets impressed by the best."

"She's good, actually," James said. "She's definitely the best in our Potions class. I remember in second year, Professor Slughorn had to give her extra work at the end of each lesson, because she always finished half an hour before everyone else!"

Bathilda smiled. "Well, then, Ms. Evans, I wouldn't say Horace was exaggerating at all. So you're good at Potions: what about History of Magic? That was always my best subject at school..."

Lily thought for a moment, "Mmm... It's not that I'm bad at it, I just find it a bit boring. You see, our teacher..."

"Professor Binns, I assume?"

"Yes, Professor Binns... he's a bit..."

"Dead," said James.

"It's not because he's dead!" Lily was quick to ammend. "He's just a bit boring..."

"I see..." Bathilda said mildly.

"I have read your book, though. I, uh, I wanted to say it's really good. Very interesting."

Bathilda smiled. "Thank you. Now, I've just spotted someone I know, and they will probably be offended if I don't go and speak to them, so I'll leave you now."

"Nice meeting you," said Lily.

As soon as she had left, James grabbed Lily's arm.

"What?" she asked him, confused.

"Is that...? It is, isn't it!" James said, obviously very excited.

"What are you talking about?"

"It's Ludo Bagman!" He pointed towards a young, athletic looking guy who was chatting to some girls on the other side of the room. He was blond-haired, blue-eyed, and rather good-looking.

"Seriously?" said Lily. "I don't even know what he looks like. I've never seen him, only heard people talking about him..."

"I'm sure it's him..." he grinned. "Hey, have you got a piece of parchment?"

"Are you really going to ask him for an autograph?" Lily scoffed.

"Oy, I'll have you know he's one of the best Quidditch players in the whole of England! Of course I'm going to ask him for an autograph. Have you got some or not?"

Lily shook her head. "Why would I have a piece of parchment on me? Girl's dresses don't usually have pockets, you know." However, what she did have on her was her wand, so she magicked some up and handed it to James.

"Thanks. Are you coming?"

"Er... Okay, then."

They walked over to the Quidditch player, who had left the girls he had been talking to and was at the drinks table.

"Mr. Bagman?" said James.

He turned round, looking for the speaker. He looked at James and smiled warmly. "That's me!"

"I was just wondering if you could sign this..." he said, passing Bagman the piece of parchment.

"No problem." He scribbled on it, finishing with a flourish and handing it back to James.

"Thanks! Oh, and I wanted to say, well, you were brilliant in the last match against the Appleby Arrows. That was-"

"Wait, but I thought you played for the Appleby Arrows..." Lily said, confused.

James sighed. "No, he's in the Wimbourne Wasps."

Bagman laughed. "Well, I know someone here isn't into Quidditch! I'm guessing you don't want an autograph?"

"Well, if you don't mind, I bet my friend Dorcas would love one. She'll probably stick it on the dormitory wall, with all her other Quidditch posters," said Lily.

Bagman signed another piece of parchment and handed it to her.

"Thank you."

"You're absolutely welcome. So, how come you're at old Sluggie's party, then?"

"He invited us..."

"Oh, yeah, I mean why did he invite you? He only ever picks the best, why you two in particular?"

"My dad's been promoted at the Ministry recently," said James, "and Lily's the best student of the year, so..."

"I'm not the best student!"

"You so are. All the teachers say so, you know."

"I'm very pleased to meet you then," said Bagman. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to be off. I've got a meeting with my manager in half an hour, and he gets annoyed when I'm late..."

"It was great meeting you," James said. He grinned, and walked away towards the door. "He's brilliant, isn't he?"

"Uh, he just seems kind of normal..."

"Yeah, he does, actually... But he's a great Quidditch player."

"I don't doubt it..." said Lily. "Shall we go and get some drinks?

They made their way through the crowd to the drinks table, and picked up a Butterbeer each. Sipping slowly, Lily looked around the room. It was interesting, to say the least. Here and there, either drinking or chatting pleasantly, were some of the most famous people in the wizard world.

"Is that Rita Skeeter?" she wondered, looking at a peroxide blond with the longest nails Lily had ever seen.

"Yeah..." said James, a clear distaste in his voice. "Pure evil, that woman is... She wrote the most horrible article about the Auror's Department last month, saying that they should be trying harder to catch these Death Eaters. As if they weren't trying their hardest already! My dad comes back at least three hours late from work every night as it is..."

"Really? I didn't see it... Mind you, I don't usually read Skeeter's stuff..."

"No, me neither, but that article in particular caused loads of trouble in the Ministry. Apparently, there's actually quite a lot of people who think like her; that the Auror's Department isn't trying hard enough."

"And what do you think?" Lily was interested to know his opinion.

"I think it's a load of shit. I mean, my dad does his best, and every single Auror in the Ministry does too... Speaking of Aurors... Hey, Alastor!"

At that moment, James called out to a wizard standing at the other side of the room, who spun round faster than Lily thought was possible and looked around him. When he spotted James, he immediately started towards him.

"James," he nodded curtly. Lily took in the newcomer's face: he had blue eyes and carved features, which at one time may have been handsome, but were now too covered in scars. He had thick grey hair that probably made him look older than he really was, and a chunk missing from his nose.

"Lily, this is Alastor Moody. He's an Auror."

"Yeah, I know who he is. Your reputation precedes you," Lily said, not concealing the admiration in her voice. Alastor Moody was indeed famous for hunting down dark wizards, especially Death Eaters.

He looked at Lily with cold, almost suspicious eyes. "And who's this?" he asked James.

"Lily Evans," he replied. "The cleverest witch of our year."

Lily blushed at the compliment, but Moody looked interested. "Clever, are you?"

She didn't really know what to answer to that, so she remained silent.

"So, how's stuff in the Department?" James inquired.

"Bad, as always. The Minister is giving no funding for vampire hunting, and with people like her..." he shot a murderous glance at Rita Skeeter, "spreading rumours that we aren't working hard enough... Let's just say things could be going better."

"Right... Do you mind if I ask you something?" said James.

"You're probably going to anyway..."

"How do you think my dad's coping? He just seems so stressed and worried all the time..."

"He's in a difficult Department, he's bound to get stressed out. I wouldn't bother too much about him, he's doing fine."

James brightened visibly. "Great. Thanks."

"Yeah... Well, I'd better be getting back to work. I've got a shift in half an hour..."

"Doing what?" Lily asked, genuinely curious.

Moody looked at her. "Curious, aren't you? That's a good sign in an Auror... But never you mind. I'll see you around, James."

With that he left them, and exited the room.

"What did you think of him?" James asked Lily.

"He was a bit strange... But in a good way?"

"Yeah, I get what you mean. Cool scars, though. He told me how he got them all once."

"Really?"

"Yep. It was at my dad's 45th birthday, and we had loads of people round at my house. I was only a kid, and I pointed at one of his scars and asked him how he got it," James grinned at the memory.

"What did he say?"

"He said he got slashed by a bad curse. And then he told me the story of all his other scars. I was so impressed... I wanted to be an Auror from then on."

"What, you wanted to be an Auror to have scars like him?"

"No! The thing is, in most of the stories he told me, he had protected someone else, a Muggle or whoever, and I just thought that sounded like the best way to live: saving others from danger."

Lily blinked, and looked at him. "So... you want to be an Auror to help other people?"

"Yep."

She wasn't sure what to say, but James started speaking before she had to think of anything. "I don't usually come to these parties... They're a bit boring, aren't they?"

"Mmm, yeah. They're all the same, really, but Slughorn usually wants me to come, so..."

"Want to go and do something else?"

She grinned, remembering what they had done yesterday when he had said similar words. They'd had fun, and anything would be more interesting than this party... "Yeah, why not?"

They slipped out of the party, and out into the deserted corridor.

"So, I chose yesterday, what do you want to do today?" James asked her.

"Mmm... I don't mind."

"Go on, it's your turn to chose!"

"I can't really think of anything I want to do right now..."

"Well, what do you usually do in your spare time?"

Lily thought about it and smiled. "I read..."

"Oh, you like reading? What do you read?"

"All sorts... Uh, fantasy, historical fantasy, more realistic stuff, poetry..."

"You read poetry?"

"Yeah..." she said. "I know most people find it boring, but..."

"I don't find poetry boring. And I'm not just saying that to impress you."

"Why would you want to impress me?" Lily laughed.

James didn't answer, but instead said "So, do you know any?"

"What?"

"Do you know any poems? That you could just recite now."

Lily thought about it. "_There is a place where the sidewalk ends  
And before the street begins,  
And there the grass grows soft and white,  
And there the sun burns crimson bright,  
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight  
To cool in the peppermint wind_."

"Beautiful."

"It is, isn't it?"

"I didn't mean the poem," said James. She looked at him, and he looked right back at her, not blushing or lowering his eyes. Her lips parted as if she was about to say something, but no words came out.

Suddenly, James grinned. "So, apart from reading poetry, what else do you do?"

Lily was surprised by the change of subject, so it took her a moment to answer, "Uh, I cook."

"Seriously? You cook in your spare time?"

"Yeah, what's wrong with that?"

"Nothing. It's great for me, because I love eating!" He laughed, and so did she.

"It's a pity, though," Lily said. "Because in Hogwarts I never get the chance to cook."

"Why not?"

"I don't have a kitchen."

James grinned again. "Okay. Come on, then," he said, taking her by the hand. Yesterday, that gesture had meant nothing to Lily, but now her heart began to race as they walked down to the corridor. What was wrong? And why did her insides feel as if they were flying?

They walked down corridors and staircases, until they finally reached the Hufflepuff Basement.

"What are we doing here?" she asked him curiously.

"Wait and see." He walked up to a big painting of a fruit bowl, and tickled a pear. That seemed like a very random thing to do to Lily, until the pear transformed into a bright green doorknob. He pulled it, and the painting swung open to reveal a big door.

"What the-?"

"Welcome to the Hogwarts kitchens!" James announced proudly. Lily stepped in, and found herself in an enormous room, the size of the Great Hall, with five tables identical to the ones there. Shiny pots and pans were stacked on counter-tops around the room, and at the far end there was a large red-brick fireplace.

"Wow..." Lily was amazed, taking in everything around her. She then noticed movement next to the fireplace, and her eyes focused on that.

It was a small creature, of about two feet of height, which Lily had only ever seen in books. There were the large ears, the globe-like eyes, and when it spoke, it had a very squeaky voice.

"Master Potter, it is good to see you again!"

"Same to you," James said. "This is Lily Evans, you don't mind if she comes down here to cook, do you?"

"Of course not, Master Potter. But whatever food she might need, the house-elves can make..."

"Yeah, but she wanted to do some cooking herself. She enjoys it, you see."

"Well, then, the kitchen is yours, Miss Evans!"

Lily, who had been watching the exchange in surprised silence, finally spoke. "Thank you."

"There is no need to thank Whispy, Miss Evans."

"Uh, okay... But thanks, anyway."

Whispy walked back to the fireplace, where Lily now saw there were a lot more house-elves.

"How many are there?" Lily wondered.

"Ninety-nine. They basically run the cleaning, cooking and everything else that needs taking care of inside the castle."

"How come I've never seen one, then?"

"They usually keep out of sight. That's a sign of a good house-elf, if you don't notice they're there."

Lily blinked. "Do they get paid?"

"I don't know, I've never asked them. Hey, Whispy, do you get paid?" he called.

Whispy and the rest of the house-elves laughed. "No, sir! House-elves don't get paid!"

"So we've basically got ninety-nine slaves working for us, and I didn't even know about it?" she rounded on James indignantly.

"Uh... Well, if you see it like that..."

"I see it how it is! Since when have you known about this?"

James thought about it. "Since second year, I think."

"And you've never, not even once, been outraged by this? Because I am!"

"But, Evans, they actually enjoy working for us. It's what they live for."

"What? Don't tell me they're working as slaves _for their own good-_"

"But they are! Hey, Whispy, can you come here a second?"

Whispy hurried over to them. "Yes, Master Potter?" he squeaked.

"Do you enjoy cooking?"

"Yes, sir. It must be done."

"No, but do you actually enjoy it?" Lily pressed him.

"Yes, Miss. Evans. All House-elves enjoy cooking."

"What about cleaning? No one enjoys cleaning..."

"I like cleaning, miss," Whispy piped up.

Lily looked at the house-elf. "So you actually enjoy these things? Even though you don't get paid..."

"Yes, miss."

Lily didn't know what to say. James had enough common sense to not say "I told you so".

Whispy spoke again. "Miss Evans, Hogwarts house-elves are free. They can leave whenever they want."

"Yeah?"

"Yes, miss. If Whispy wanted to leave right now, then Whispy could."

"Oh... right..."

"They don't have it that bad here, you know," said James as Whispy went back to the fire. "They're treated fairly, and they don't get punished if they do something wrong."

Lily thought about that. "Right... But it still seems unfair..."

"It is, really, but what can we do about it? They actually do enjoy doing this stuff."

"Mmm... Ah, well, I'll have to think about it... In any case, do you want to start cooking?"

James smiled. "Of course! What are we going to be making?"

Lily thought about it, trying to remember her favourite recipes. She had a book at home that her dad had given her, full of delicious ones, and she soon found the one she was looking for. "Okay, we're going to need some flour, some water, milk, butter, sugar, and blackberries. Can you find me those?"

James went off to search for the ingredients, while Lily started setting up weighing scales and a big mixing bowl on the counter. He joined her a minute or two later, carrying all the ingredients she had asked for.

"Right, so first we have to heat up the oven." She did so, then went back to the counter. "Now we make the pastry. You put the flour and the butter into the bowl," she demonstrated, "and you crumble it all up with your fingers, until it's all mixed together." She started doing that, and then nodded at James. "Go on, you too."

He put his hands into the mixing bowl, and started crumbling the flour and the butter together. It was a big bowl, but their hands kept rubbing past the other's, making Lily blush. Oh, it was a pain having such pale skin: when she blushed her cheeks lit up, a bright pink that all but glowed!

James noticed, but didn't say anything. They crumbled the ingredients together for a while, falling into a comfortable silence.

When the flour and the butter was completely mixed together, Lily said, "Right, so now we add the water, and mix it up."

She did so, and James put his hands in the bowl again. He kneaded it, his hands getting covered in pastry, making him look as if he was wearing thick gloves. Lily giggled.

"What?" James asked her, smiling.

"Nice hands," she remarked.

James grinned, and suddenly lunged at her. His hand met her face, and covered her with sticky dough. She cried out, half-laughing, and smacked him lightly on the arm. He laughed loudly.

When the pastry was ready, Lily rolled it into a ball, wrapped it up, and left it on the side-board. "You have to leave that to cool for about fifteen minutes. Now we'll start the mixture."

"What are we actually making?" said James.

"You'll see," she winked. She surprised even herself at how naturally that wink had come (when had she ever been so saucy?), but James didn't comment on it.

"Okay," she said. "So we fill three and a half cups full of blackberries," James did. "Mix them with half a cup of sugar," he did, "and with half a cup of flour," which he also did. "Now we have to roll out the pastry."

James grabbed a rolling pin, and started spreading out the pastry. "How thin has it got to be?"

"Fairly thin. About this thin," she said, measuring a distance between her finger and thumb. He rolled it out at that width.

"Oh, we need a tin to put it in. I'll go and find it, give me a second." She went off, and came back a minute later carrying a round backing tin.

She placed it on the counter-top, and put the berry mixture into it. Then she took the pastry gently, and spread it on top of the mixture.

"It's a pie!" James guessed suddenly.

"It took you long enough..." Lily teased him, crimping the edges with a fork. She pricked the center with it, "That's to let the steam out. Now we wash it over with a bit of milk, so it goes a nice golden colour, and sprinkle it with sugar. And now all there's left to do is put it in the oven. Shall you do the honours?"

"Of course," said James. He opened the oven, took the tin in both hands, and slowly put it in. He closed the oven, and straightened up. "What now?"

"Now we wait," she smiled.

He leaned forwards and brushed her cheek. "You've got some flour... Just there."

She blushed (bloody pale skin!), but then grinned. She took some flour and threw it over James. "So have you!"

He stood still for a second, then lunged at her, but she dodged him and ran off. Laughing, he ran after her. She was quick on her feet, dodging this was and that, but he was even faster, and finally caught up with her. He grabbed her arm and pulled her in close. She gasped, and looked up at him. He was a head taller than her, and he leaned down to...

"Miss Evans, Master Potter! Whispy thinks your pie might be ready!" a voice squeaked from behind them.

They sprung apart, and rushed over to the oven. The kitchen had been slowly filling with the delicious smell of baking, but they had been too busy to notice it.

Lily opened the oven, and took out the pie. It looked gorgeous, all golden and crispy, and when she sliced into it the blackberry mixture was a deep, rich red, oozing out. She handed James a slice, and took one for herself.

"It looks amazing..." said James.

They took a mouthful at exactly the same time; it was truly delicious.

"Oh, Merlin, it tastes so good!"

"It does, doesn't it? High five, cooking partner!" They high fived, and grinned at each other. They ate some more, until they had finished it.

Then James called out, "Hey, Whispy, do you want some? And anyone else who feels hungry..."

A couple of house-elves scuttled over, "Oh, Master Potter, you are so generous!"

"Well, tell us what you think," he said, serving them plates of pie.

They dug into it, and smiled at the two of them. "It's delicious!"

"Thank you," said Lily.

While the house-elves finished eating, Lily and James washed up the stuff they had used, and put back the remains of the ingredients. They decided to take the rest of the pie back up to their respective dormitories, and so wrapped it up in foil. With a final wave at Whispy and the rest, they left the kitchens.

The hall outside was deserted, and so were all the corridors that they walked through.

"What time do you think it is?" Lily wondered.

"Half eleven," said James, glancing at his watch.

"Is it really that late? I thought it was a lot earlier!"

"Well, time passes when you're having fun..." James grinned.

"Mmm... I did have fun, actually. Wouldn't mind repeating it some time."

They were in the Common Room by then, and there was still no one to be seen: everyone had gone up to bed.

"Well... I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then," said Lily.

"Don't I get a goodnight kiss?" James asked cheekily.

"You'll get a goodnight smack if you're not careful..." Lily smirked, her heart pounding.

"Ah, well... I guess I'll have my kiss some other time."

"I wouldn't bet on it," Lily slowly made her way up the stairs.

"Oh, I would! Night, night..."

"Night, night."

The girls were still awake when she entered the dormitory.

"How was the party?" Dorcas asked her.

"It was good... But we didn't stay there for long."

"How come?"

"We went..." Lily wasn't sure if students were allowed in the kitchen, so she decided to stay on the safe side. "...for a walk."

"Oh, right. Did you have a nice time, then?"

"Mmm... I had a very nice time."

As she fell asleep, she was unable to wipe the happy grin off her face. She felt immensely happy, for some reason.

Although she didn't realize it yet, that reason was James Potter.

* * *

**I was eating blackberry pie the other day... I enjoyed writing it, but what do you think of this chapter? :)**


	21. A Tale of A Halloween Feast and Gunshots

September grew gradually colder, and turned into October, and those two months passed with no more attacks. Classes, eating, homework, sleeping, and nothing much else. Dirk and Emmeline came out of the Hospital Wing, but other than that, there was nothing remarkable that happened at that time.

Or was there?

Maybe, in those two months, Lily and James found they began to understand each other at last.

Lily realized that she might have been wrong for the past five years: maybe James Potter _did_ deserve a chance. Now they were spending more time together, she began to see him in a different light, and instead of seeing all his faults, she saw all the good things about him. He was funny, you could always have a laugh with him, but he could also be serious when he wanted to. They could talk for hours on end, and she never got bored. Their Boggart project was coming on well, although they still hadn't found out what would happen if one crossed someone who was afraid of the dark.

James, on the other hand, realized that he had been right for the last five years: Lily was beautiful. Not just physically, because that would make him superficial (and if there was one thing James detested in people was superficiality), but everything about her. The intense concentration she put in when she was studying, the way she threw her head back when she laughed, the witty remarks with which she teased him... It was all part of her, of Lily, and in James' eyes, nothing could be more beautiful.

He was watching her from the other end of Gryffindor table at the Halloween feast. The Great Hall was full of enormous pumpkins, each with a bright candle inside. The food was, as always, delicious.

He was about to reach for a Cauldron Cake when someone slammed into his back. Wincing in pain and shock, he spun round to see who it was, and found himself face to face with a smirking Dolohov, surrounded by a few other Slytherins.

"Whoops, didn't see you there, Potter," he sneered.

James glared at him, but decided not to reply, and so turned back round and bit into the cake. Suddenly, Sirius cried out. He had also been elbowed in the back.

"Didn't see you there, either, Black. Oh, wait... do you still go by that name? Seeing as you don't really belong to that family..."

"What the fuck is your problem, Dolohov?" said James angrily.

"Mine?" the Slytherin asked in mock innocence. "None, none at all..."

"Good. Now shut up and go back to your seat."

"You can't tell me what to do, Potter."

"Just watch me," James growled, standing up.

Dolohov drew his wand, and so did James. Suddenly Remus stood up. "Enough is enough. Dolohov, go back to your seat. James, sit down."

The authority of a Prefect was enough to split up the group. The Slytherins went back to their table, and James slowly sat down.

"What _is_ his problem, though?" he asked no one in particular. "I mean, we didn't even say anything this time..."

"He's just a git. His dad is the same, it must run in the family," said Sirius.

"How do you know his dad?" Peter asked curiously.

"A friend of my parents..."

James was silent. He was once more observing someone, but this time it was Dolohov instead of Lily. Evil git, he thought as he saw him sit down next to Snape. They were both as bad as each other, and all the rest of the Slytherins were the same. All of them evil. Unconsciously, his gaze slipped down the table to where his sister was sitting. She was chatting to her friends, or what James supposed were her friends. To be honest, he didn't speak that much to Leah anymore, so he didn't really know how things were getting on.

"She looks happy, doesn't she?" someone sat down next to him. He smiled, recognizing the voice, and looked round to see Lily.

"What?"

"She looks happy."

"Who does?"

"Your sister."

"Oh, eh..." He hadn't really thought about it like that: he had been to centered on what table she was sitting at. "I guess."

"I think she does, anyway. So, enjoying the feast?" she asked him. "We put up the candles, by the way. The Prefects."

"Yeah, Remus said... They look good."

"Thanks. Well, I'll go back to my seat now... I just thought you were looking a bit gloomy, looking over at your sister like that..."

"Mmm..."

"See you around," she waved and walked back to where her friends were sitting. They looked at her when she arrived, but none of them said anything.

"What?" Lily said.

They didn't answer.

"No, seriously, what's up? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Robyn took a deep breath. "Lily... Do you like James?"

"Yeah, he's really nice, why?"

"No," Avril shook her head. "She means do you _like_ James?"

Lily blushed. "What? Why are you asking me that?"

"You're avoiding the question..." said Dorcas.

Lily was well aware of that. "I... I know," she sighed. "It's just that I don't really know the answer to that question."

"Why not?" Avril asked her.

Lily sat in silence for a moment or two, wondering where to start. "Because... Well, for one, until fairly recently I've always hated James, so it's hard for me to see him as someone nice now. He was always teasing me... He still does, but now it's in a silly way," she added with a smile. "He's such a nice person, really funny, and kind, and smart-"

"Not to mention hot," said Avril.

"Mmm, that too."

"But do you fancy him or don't you? Because we can be sure that he definitely likes _you_," said Dorcas.

"That's the thing, though. He's fancied me since ages back, and he's probably got such high expectations of me... What if he realizes I'm not good enough for him?"

"Are you kidding me, Lils? You're too good for _any_ boy! Don't do yourself down... And anyway, I wouldn't worry about that if I were you. If you really do fancy him, and you date or whatever, he'll be too happy to even think about that kind of thing."

"Do you think so?" Lily nibbled on her lip.

"I know so," said Avril.

"He really does like you, Lily," Robyn said. "I don't think he's ever liked any other girl as much as you."

"He hasn't, and that's a fact. I don't think I should tell you this, but you know back in 4th year when he was dating Michelle Clearwater?" Avril said to them in an undertone.

"Yeah..." News got around in Hogwarts, especially if it was news concerning two of the hottest boys and girls in the school

"Well, I was in the bathroom, the one on the 2nd floor, when Michelle and her friends came in, and I could hear her crying, saying that she was never going to be good enough... Because whenever they were together, she always felt as if he were comparing her to someone else."

"Seriously? That's really unfair of him!" said Lily.

"Yeah, but he probably couldn't help it. If he really loves you..."

"Well, he has kept hinting about it... While we've been doing the project, you know. And the day of Slughorn's party, I think he was going to kiss me."

"What? You didn't tell us that!" said Dorcas.

"I didn't think it was important!"

"Yeah, right, you just didn't want to tell us!" Avril said. "But what was your first instinct when he did that: to move away or to kiss him back?"

"I'm not sure... I don't think I would have moved away..."

"Right, that settles it then." said Dorcas. "You're in love, Lily."

* * *

Was that possible?, she thought that night when she was finally in bed. Her friends were all fast asleep, for it was quite late. She was tired, but however many times she rolled over, it seemed she would never fall asleep. What was wrong with her? Was she really in love, like her friends said?

She had spent a long time thinking she wouldn't find the right guy at Hogwarts, but then again, she had never really tried. Guys had asked her out to Hogsmeade before, or on occasional dates, but none of them had really made her feel like James did.

It was butterflies in her stomach, a giddy feeling, her eyes sparkling, and every other cliché when she was with him. She was happy, always with a smile on her face. She wasn't daft, she knew the signs, but was it possible? Could she really be in love?

Her mind was spinning, when she suddenly heard something that sounded exactly like a gunshot. She sat up in bed, and so did the rest of the girls.

"What was that?"

"No idea... Whatever it was, it sounded a lot like a gun."

"Yeah, but guns don't work in Hogwarts, do they? They're Muggle artifacts..."

"I'm going to go and see..." Lily said, her duty as a Prefect taking hold of her. "You guys stay here."

She slowly tiptoed downstairs in her pyjamas, and into the Common Room. There was no one in sight, until she heard footsteps behind her... She spun round and saw it was Remus.

"Oh, Merlin, you gave me such a shock..."

"Did you hear that?" he asked her.

"Yeah... It sounded like a shot..."

There was a pattering of steps coming down from the dormitories, and a few curious students arrived. "What was that?" "Was it a gun?" "Do you two know anything?"

"We don't know yet, but you should all go back to bed. It was probably nothing," Remus said to them, gesturing for them to go back the way they had came.

They did, muttering and wondering about what the noise had been. When they had finally gone, Remus spoke. "Do you think we should go outside and have a look?"

"Okay..." she answered nervously.

They climbed through the Portrait Hole and looked around them. The corridor was deserted, as always.

"It didn't sounded like it was near here..." said Lily. He nodded, and they started walking, looking around them as they went.

"Maybe we should go see Professor McGonagall..." Remus was about to say, when they heard someone behind them. They turned round quickly, their wands at the ready, and saw a small figure walking down the corridor towards them. Before they could react, there was a flash of light and they were both thrown off their feet. They crashed back against the wall, but Lily got to her feet quickly and cried "_Expelliarmus!_". A wand flew towards her as the attacker was flung backwards. Lily grabbed the wand and put it in her pyjama pocket. The figure tried to run off, but Lily shouted once more "_Petrificus Totalus!_", and whoever it was froze completely and fell to the ground.

Lily paused for a moment to catch her breath, and then walked over to the figure lying on the floor. She made out a small, thin girl, with dark hair, and hazel eyes that were staring right at her... It took Lily a moment to recognize her, but when she did, her eyes widened in shock.

It was Leah Potter.


	22. A Tale of Two In The Hospital Wing

Thanks, people, for all your great reviews!

It took Lily more than a few seconds to react, but then she called out behind her.

"It's okay, Remus... She's stunned."

There was no answer. Lily turned round, and saw Remus lying on the floor, in the same position he had been in when he had fallen against the wall. She ran over and kneeled in front of him.

"Remus, can you hear me?" she asked, shaking him gently. "Remus! Wake up!" She suddenly saw a trickle of a deep red liquid dripping from the back of his head, and put her hand there. When she removed it, it was covered in blood. "Oh, shit... Okay, okay, calm down..."

She breathed in deeply, and then conjured up two stretchers, one for Leah and one for Remus. She lifted the students up onto them, and started making her way towards the Hospital Wing. The stretchers levitated in her wake.

When she arrived, she didn't even bother knocking. She went in, and looked around for Madam Pomfrey, who was nowhere to be seen. However, Lily found her asleep in her office.

"Madam... There's two injured students here..." she shook her. Madam Pomfrey took barely seconds to snap out of her sleep, and stood up to asses the situation.

"What happened to them?" she asked Lily as she moved Remus and Lily onto the beds.

"Leah attacked me, so I stunned her... But she attacked Remus too, and he... he knocked his head against the wall, and-"

"Right, not to worry. He bled a lot, but head injuries usually do. It's probably not too serious."

"Oh, I hope he's okay..."

"And this girl? Leah, is she called?"

"Yes, Leah Potter."

"Mm, I think she might have been under the Imperius curse."

"What?"

"Yes, there are signs, you see..." Madam Pomfrey said vaguely. "Could you go and fetch their Heads of Houses? You know what House they're in, don't you?"

"Remus is in Gryffindor, and Leah's in Slytherin..."

"Well, if you could please go and bring them here."

Lily parted, and ran off to find Professor McGonagall. She found her in her office, wearing a tartan dressing-gown and a sleepy expression. When she saw Lily, she woke up completely.

"Yes, Miss Evans?"

"There's been... an accident or something, Leah attacked Remus, well, and me, and then Remus knocked his head, but Madam Pomfrey said she was Imperiused-" Lily said in a rush.

"Could you please take a deep breath, slow down, and repeat that again?"

"We heard a noise, like a gunshot, and me and Remus went to look and see what had happened. And then we saw someone, and it was Leah Potter, and she attacked us. And I was okay, but Remus banged his head against a wall. Then I stunned Leah, and I took them both to the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey told me to go and get their Heads of Houses."

Professor McGonagall listened carefully. "You said something about an Imperius?"

"Yes, Madam Pomfrey said Leah might have been Imperiused when she attacked us."

"Right... Well, you go and find Horace-Professor Slughorn," she amended quickly. "I shall go to the Hospital Wing."

"Okay, Professor."

They both left in opposite directions, Lily towards Professor Slughorn's office. She had to knock on his door five times before he finally answered, and when he did it was almost as if he was sleep-walking.

"Miss Evans, what brings you here so early?" he said, rubbing his eyes drowsily.

"There's been an attack, Madam Pomfrey said you should go quickly."

"Oh, eh... Does it have to be now? I could do with a few more hours of sleep..."

"It has to be now, sir. It's quite urgent!"

"Well, if it can't be helped..." he closed the door, still in his silk pyjamas. As they walked towards the Hospital Wing, Lily filled him in on all the details.

When they got there, they found Professor McGonagall, Professor Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey all huddled round the two beds at the far end.

"...why all these attacks are happening," said Professor McGonagall.

"Well, Minerva, you know as well as I do that- Horace, Miss Evans," the Headmaster greeted them.

"Is Remus okay?" Lily asked nobody in particular.

"He lost a lot of blood, I'm afraid. But he'll pull through."

"Oh, thank Merlin..." Lily felt weak with relief, as she sat down on a nearby bed.

"And what about the other girl?" Professor Slughorn asked.

"She was Imperiused, and then stunned, which is not a good combination for someone so young. But she too will be fine, she just needs to rest. She's asleep now."

Indeed, Lily now saw that Leah was asleep in the bed next to Remus.

"Well, now, if our heroine is agreeable, maybe she could tell us exactly what happened," said Professor Dumbledore.

At first Lily didn't realize who he was talking about, but when everyone looked at her she suddenly blushed. "Well, sir, I was asleep, and suddenly I heard a gunshot. But it couldn't have been a gun, could it? Because they don't work in Hogwarts..."

"Indeed they don't," the Headmaster nodded.

"But anyway, I got up, and went down to the Common Room, and Remus was there too. Other students had woken up, but we told them to go back to bed. Then we went outside to see if there was anyone around, and we suddenly saw Leah at the end of the corridor. She attacked us, and Remus fell and hit his head. So I stunned Leah, saw Remus was bleeding, and brought them both here."

"You say you heard a gunshot? Any idea what that could have been?"

"No... We didn't see anything..."

"Minerva, Horace, could you please go and have a look around the castle and see if there is anything out of the ordinary?"

They got up and left.

There was silence for a moment or two, so Lily brought up the courage to ask something that had been on her mind for a while. "Sir?" she asked the Headmaster. "If Leah was under the Imperius curse, who do you think Imperiused her in the first place?"

He sighed. "I really don't know, Miss Evans."

"Oh, right..." She was disappointed: she had hoped he would have the answers.

"Now, I suggest you go back to bed, for it is late," he looked at his watch. "Actually, it is early. In any case, your roommates will be waiting for you to explain why you took so long. You should probably get back to them."

"Yes, sir." She got up, looked at Remus one last time, and left the Hospital Wing. The empty corridors looking scarier than ever, and Lily was careful not to turn any corner without looking round it first. She was relieved when she finally entered through the Portrait Hole, and went up to her dormitory.

Her friends were wide awake, as Dumbledore had predicted.

"Oh, Lily, I'm so glad you're back!" Avril hugged her as she came in through the door.

"We were so worried..." said Dorcas. "What happened?"

She told them, in detail, for that is what they wanted, what had happened. They were shocked.

"Blimey... Are you okay, though?"

"Yes, I barely even got scratched. It was Remus who was worst off..." A thought occurred to her. "I'd better go and tell the rest of his dormitory what happened, they'll be worried."

"Be careful, though... If there are more people Imperiused..."

"I don't think so, but I'll be careful anyway, okay?" She stepped out of the dormitory, down the stairs, and up to the boys' one. After a gentle knock, the door opened, and Sirius appeared.

"Lily-flower, are you okay?" He was surprised to see her: she didn't usually go to their dormitory, especially so late at night.

"Yeah, I'm fine, it's Remus..."

"What? Has something happened to him?" James said, joining them in the door frame.

"He's... he's in the Hospital Wing."

"Oh, shit... Come in, anyway..." They made way for her, and she sat down on one of their beds.

"What happened?" Peter urged her to speak, as James and Sirius sat down next to her. Dirk Cresswell looked over at her from his own bed.

"I suppose you heard the gunshot?" All the boys nodded. "Well, I went downstairs, and then Remus came down too, and we went outside, and then..." She just realized something: Leah was James' sister. How would he take it?

"Then what?" said Peter.

"Then Leah came and-and attacked us."

"Leah?" James asked her. "You don't mean...?"

"Yes. It was your sister."

"She attacked? But... why?"

"Madam Pomfrey said she was under the Imperius curse."

James leaned back on his bed, ruffling his hair unconsciously. "Is she okay?"

"I think so..."

"Where is she?"

"In the Hospital Wing. She's asleep, though."

James sighed in relief. "What happened then?"

"Well, she used a spell that pushed us back, and Remus fell against the wall. He banged his head. He's in the Hospital Wing too."

"Is he alright?" said Sirius.

"Yeah... Big blood loss, but it's not a deep injury, I don't think. They'll both be okay."

"I've got to go and see Leah," James said, getting up. "I've got to make sure..."

"No, Prongs, you stay here," Sirius didn't even bother to not use the nickname in Lily's presence. "You've got to sleep, you'll see her tomorrow."

"He's right, you should rest," Dirk spoke for the first time.

James doubted for a moment, then sat back down on his bed.

"I should better do the same," Lily said. "I'll see you tomorrow..."

"Night," said James.

"Night." She left the boy's dormitory, and went back to her own. The girls were finally asleep, so she got into bed.

Only now did she realize how exhausted she really was. Her head fell of its own accord onto her pillow, her hair spreading messily around her.

She had class tomorrow, and was not looking forward to it one bit. Getting up in the mornings was hard enough, but if she had lost time of sleep...

She yawned. She was already half-asleep.


	23. A Tale of News She Already Knew

The next morning, Lily woke up and did not remember the events of the night before. She got dressed and went down to breakfast with her friends, and still did not remember it. It was only when an owl, carrying the _Daily Prophet_, brought her the news she already knew.

""_**Attacks renewed at Hogwarts...**_" Oh, true, I'd forgotten about it completely! I was so tired... I was going to go and visit Leah and Remus in the Hospital Wing... I'd better be going," she said to Avril. "I'll see you in Transfiguration, okay?"

"See ya..." her friend returned vaguely. She was scanning over the front page of the _Daily Prophet_, and did not like what she saw one bit. "_**When the beginning of the school year starts with an attack on a student, it is probable that things are going to continue in that way. But who was to expect that a total of six students would-**_" Six?"

"I don't think so," Robyn said. "Last time I counted, it was only five."

"Yeah: first it was Emmeline and Tim, then Dirk, then Leah and Remus... That's five."

"Maybe they're counting Lily, too. She got attacked, even if she was alright..."

"Mmm... How did they find out so quickly, though?"

"The attacks have been happening for a month now, I hardly call that quickly..."

"No, but the last one was only yesterday. They must have some pretty fast reporters in the Daily Prophet..."

"I guess..." Avril read to the end of the page. "Well, what do you think of this? "_**...being commented that there should be tighter security measures around the castle.**_" Like the security measures aren't tight enough as it is!"

"True. We already have a curfew, and all the protective spells around the castle, and all the teachers. If we're more protected, this is going to start feeling like Azkaban!"

"What were you saying about Azkaban?" said Sirius, sitting down beside them. Peter also took a seat.

"We were just talking about all the security measures that there are round here," Avril smiled at him. "Almost like a prison."

"Yes, but "it's for our own good"" He imitated Professor McGonagall's voice almost to perfection, making them all laugh.

"So, how come James isn't here?" Dorcas observed. "It's strange seeing only two of you... Like you're missing something."

"He's gone to see his sister," said Peter.

"Which reminds me, us two had better get going to the Hospital Wing. We only came here to get some food," said Sirius, picking up a whole plate of toast.

"Ah, right... Lily's there too," said Avril. "I guess I'll see you around..."

"I guess so." With that, both boys departed, carrying more food than anyone could possibly eat.

Avril sighed. "You know, I don't think he likes me..."

"Who?"

"Sirius. He used to flirt, but he doesn't now..."

"No need to sound so morose," said Robyn. "His loss."

"I guess you're right... He's so hot, though."

"True," Dorcas agreed.

"There's other fish in the sea, though." It didn't take long for Avril to cheer up again. "And I think Oswald Lockhart was going to ask me out on the next Hogsmeade trip. That could be pretty great," she said, looking over at the Hufflepuff table. Lockhart was sitting, flashing his handsome grin around.

"Bit of a show-off, isn't he?" Robyn said, dryly.

"Mmm... He's got a lot to show off about, though."

"I don't get what you see in guys like that," said Robyn. "His head is full of air."

"You don't see anything in any guy, so I don't expect you to."

"Yeah, why don't you like anyone, Rob?" Dorcas asked her friend.

"I do like people, just not the boys of Hogwarts. They're dumb."

"Not all of them... The Marauders are alright."

"Yeah, they're alright, but guess what? I can't date any of them," said Robyn.

"Why not?"

"For a start, I'm starting to agree with Dorcas: Lily and James would make a cute couple."

"They would, wouldn't they?" Dorcas giggled happily.

"Second, you fancy Sirius, so I'm not going to go out with him, am I?"

"I wouldn't mind if you did, you know... Just to see you go out with a guy would make my day."

"I don't fancy him, either. Then there's Remus, who isn't interested in dating anyone."

"True."

"And that leaves Peter."

"Hey, why not?" said Dorcas. "You could go out with him, easily."

"That wouldn't be a good idea..."

"What?"

"There's this girl who fancies him."

"What? Are you kidding?" cried Avril.

"No, I heard it when I was in the bathroom the other day. There was a group of girls in there, and they were talking about Peter, and one of them said she fancied him."

"Oh, Merlin, who was it?"

"I don't know her name... A Hufflepuff, I think... Curly hair, quite short...?"

"What, Marylin Bones?"

"Yeah, I think that's what she's called..."

"How come you didn't tell us?"

"It was none of our business, really."

"Wait until Peter hears this, he'll be over the moon," said Avril.

"You're not going to tell him, are you?"

"Yeah, of course! Maybe then he'll make a move, and Marylin will be really pleased."

"I guess..."

"Don't worry, Robyn. Anyway, I think I'll tell him in Transfiguration. Toast, anyone?"

* * *

Lily had arrived in the Hospital Wing to find a tired-looking James sitting next to his sister. He looked up when she arrived, and smiled wearily at her.

"Hey, Evans..."

"How are they?" she gestured towards Leah and Remus.

"They're okay, only they haven't woken up yet. How are you, though? You didn't have such an easy night yourself..."

"No, I didn't, but I'm fine. I got off lightly."

"It could have been a lot worse," James agreed.

They fell into silence, and Lily sat down next to him and looked around the Hospital Wing. She was surprised to see someone else, lying in a bed not too far off from the others. It was Gilderoy Lockhart, whom Lily recognized as a third year who had tried to flirt with Angeline.

"What's he doing here?"

"No idea..."

"He wasn't here last night," Lily remembered.

James didn't answer, because at that moment, Leah stirred. Her eyelashes fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes.

James sighed in relief. "Oh, Merlin, I'm so glad you're awake. I thought-" He didn't say what he thought, but there was no need: it was commonly known that the Imperius Curse could sometimes leave brain damage in its victims.

"James? What are...? Where am I?" his sister muttered, rather confused.

"You're in the Hospital Wing. I guess you don't remember most of it."

"No... I don't remember anything. What happened?" she said, sitting up.

"You were Imperiused."

"What? Like Tim Vance, and Dirk Cresswell last month?"

"Yes, that's what the teachers think. Probably by the same person."

"Oh, shit..." A thought occurred to her. "I didn't try to do myself off, did I?"

"No, no, you didn't try to kill yourself," James said, obviously relieved. "Apparently, you-"

But he was interrupted as the doors of the Hospital Wing opened. It was Professor McGonagall. She approached the place where they were sitting. "Miss Evans, I was looking for you. The Headmaster has called a meeting, for all Prefects, in his office. After the attack last night- But you don't know about it, do you?"

"I was there, Professor..." Lily said.

"Yes, yes, but I don't mean that. The attack on Gilderoy Lockhart?"

"What, him?" The boy was lying in his bed, still asleep.

"Yes. I had better explain, if you haven't heard yet. When Professor Dumbledore asked us to go and look around the castle, we found a student who had been attacked. It was Mister Lockhart. He was bleeding, and unconscious, so we brought him back here as fast as we could."

"Oh... Right, okay... When is the meeting?"

"In half an hour, in the Headmaster's office."

"But I've got classes, and..."

"Your teachers are aware of the situation, and have given their permission for you to miss their lesson."

"Right. Well, I'll be there, then," she said.

"Good." The Professor left, her cloak swishing behind her.

"So, where was I?" James asked nobody in particular. "Oh, yeah... You must have attacked Lockhart, too..."

Leah's eyes widened in shock. "What? But, I- I don't remember..."

"No, you wouldn't. It's not your fault, no one is blaming you," James assured her. "But that was probably the sound of the gunshot, anyway. Then you attacked Remus and Lily here," he said.

"I'm so sorry..." she said to Lily.

"Oh, don't be, it wasn't your fault."

"No, but I still feel responsible. What happened then?"

"Evans stunned you," said James, the admiration barely concealed in his voice. "But Remus had banged his head against the wall, and he was bleeding. So she brought you both here, and that was that."

Leah thought about it for a moment. "Thank you, Evans."

"You can call me Lily," Lily smiled. "It's only your prat of a brother who calles me by my surname," she teased.

"Oh, right. Well, thank you... Wait, are you Lily Evans?"

"Uh, yeah..." said Lily, slightly confused.

"I'm so glad to meet you at last, James doesn't stop talking about you," she grinned at her brother, who had gone scarlet. "It's all Lily Evans did this, Lily Evans said that-"

"That's enough, Leah..." he muttered, as both girls laughed.

"He thinks the world of you."

Lily blushed too, but was saved from having to say anything by two figures bursting into the Hospital Wing, carrying huge trays of food.

"Hey, everyone," said Sirius, placing the food on Leah's side table. "How are you feeling, Leah?"

"Fine, thanks," she grinned. They knew each other well, for Sirius often spent time at the Potter household. "You?"

"Oh, I'm grand. Hungry?"

"Yes, actually," she said, reaching for a croissant. "I hadn't realized until you brought in all this food..."

They all ate, laughing and chatting, until Lily suddenly stood up. "Well, I'd better get going, I've got a Prefect's meeting in a few minutes, I don't want to be late."

"See you later, then," said James. When Lily had left, he turned to Leah. "Oy, why did you have to say that about me saying stuff about her?"

"It's true! You're always going on about how wonderful she is," Leah laughed. "Anyway, she found it funny."

"I bet she did..." said James, as the rest of them laugh.

"Maybe you'll learn not to speak about her 24/7, now... Honestly, the way you drone on about her hair, and her Potion skills..." Peter said. Sirius laughed and was about to tease James, but was interrupted as, in the next bed to Leah's, Remus opened his eyes.

He groaned. "For Agrippa's sake, will you lot be a bit quiet? I'm trying to sleep, here..."

"Remus! You're awake!" Sirius cried, jumping onto his bed. Remus groaned again, but grinned at him weakly.

Leah watched them from the other bed, as the other three Marauders explained what had happened. When they had finished, she said "I'm really sorry... I feel really bad..."

"Oh, from what I hear it wasn't your fault, so no worries," said Remus. "How are you feeling, anyway?"

"I'm fine, thanks." She also knew Remus quite a lot, for the same reason as her knowing Sirius.

"Croissants, anyone?" Peter offered around.

* * *

Upstairs, in the Headmaster's office, there wasn't such a jolly atmosphere. Six students had been attacked or Imperiused, and that was not a happy topic to discuss.

Professor Dumbledore sat at his desk, resting his chin on his clasped hands. "We have made adjustments, patrols, added extra security... Is there anything more we can do?" He looked around at them, expecting them to come up with something.

Lily looked around too. All the Prefects where there. Well, not all of them, she ammended mentally: neither Remus nor Alice were there. The Head Girl still hadn't come back to Hogwarts, and she couldn't really be blamed. Her family must be going through a hard time. She should be there with them.

"We could arrange more patrols?" a Prefect suggested. "With both teachers and students."

"Good idea," said the Headmaster. "The Ministry has offered to send in Aurors to do patrols too, but I thought it was best if I consulted you all first."

They were all agreeable to the suggestion, and so it was decided that there would be two Prefects, two teachers and two Aurors patrolling around the castle each night. Between them, they arranged a rota for the whole of November, and decided to meet up again at the end of the month to arrange the one for December.

After that, they parted, each to their own classes, each with their own worries.

* * *

**Please review, tell me what you think!**


	24. A Tale of GryffindorSlytherin and a Kis

_**Maybe this is a bit long, but in any case, I hope you like it. If you do, tell me, and if you don't, tell me that too! **_

* * *

A weak went by, and there were no more attacks, but there was not a single person in Hogwarts who believed them to be over. After all, a month had passed before the previous ones, and look what had happened.

There was a permanent state of insecurity around the castle, which was not appeased by the rumours that were flying around. The fact that all the people who had been attacked were either half or fully Muggleborn did not escape the attention of the rest of the students.

Professor Dumbledore had spoken a few words at the dinner of the day Leah was Imperiused, something along the lines of them not blaming her for anything. He had also stated that they should act carefully, and never go anywhere alone. His tone had been grave all the time he was speaking.

But now a new topic was on everyone's minds: Quidditch. The whole castle seemed to buzz with excitement at the the thought that on that very Saturday, a Gryffindor/Slytherin match was going to take place.

The usual rivalry appeared between the two teams, especially during classes in the corridors. There was booing, sarcastic comments, and the traditional fights that would happen amongst players. It was expected by everyone who had been on the team previously, but for the newcomers it was a little harder to accept.

Aaron Jones took it in his stride: although he did punch a particularly annoying Slytherin in the face (breaking his nose and two teeth), but who could blame him? Apart from that, he took all the comments quite well, even laughing at some of them.

Summer Moxley, however, was another question. Whenever a Slytherin went near her in the corridor, usually with the idea of saying she was too young for the position, and that she would get knocked off her broom in the first five minutes, she looked like she would throw up. The up-coming match terrified her.

Even so, she was flying better than ever, and so was the rest of the team. James felt pride swell up inside him whenever he saw them playing. He had managed to pull together a team that was rather brilliant, if he may say so himself.

On the afternoon of the Friday, the whole team had flown particularly well, but the nerves were beginning to take hold on all of them. John Bridge kept knocking the Bludgers at his teammates, and accidentally swung his bat in Dorcas' direction, which ended with her swerving away from it and crashing into one of the goalposts.

Which was painful.

At ten o'clock at night (for they had been given permission to break the curfew for once), they decided to call it a day, and traipsed back into the changing rooms.

"Right, well, I want to say a few things," James announced.

"Can't it be tomorrow?" said Benjy. "I'm knackered."

There was a murmured assent all around.

"No, sorry, but I'll be quick," James assured everyone. "Okay, Kingsley, you did great, but maybe you should concentrate a bit more on the left hoop? You're usually slower getting to that one." Kingsley nodded. "John, Benjy, try to work more together. You're brilliant separately, but together you could be even better." The two mentioned grinned at each other. "Dorcas, Aaron, Summer, you three are doing really well. I can't really ask you for much more than that. That's it, really. Best of luck for tomorrow, and don't go to sleep too late, okay? You need your rest."

"Good luck to you too, Captain," Benjy laughed. James grinned back at him, but on the inside he didn't feel like grinning at all.

As he walked slowly back to the castle, his mind seemed blocked. He was too nervous, he felt the adrenalin surging up inside him whenever he thought about the match. In other matches, in other years, he had been nervous, but never this much. Was it because he was a Captain this time? Probably. He desperately wanted the team to do well, but he couldn't ask for them to do better than he did. And in the state of nerves he was in right now, he probably wouldn't do too well...

Also, Dolohov's words of the day before kept passing through his mind. It had been at lunch time...

The Marauders had all been sitting at the Gryffindor table, minding their own business (which was mostly the food they had in front of them), when James had noticed Dolohov, Rosier and a few others were walking over. But they hadn't been going towards him, but towards Summer, who was a few seats away from them.

They had sneaked up behind her and started muttering something. The young girl had spun round, a look of discomfort on her face. It was obvious that what they were saying was not good, because she looked close to tears.

James had stood up and walked over to them. Sirius had noticed and done the same.

"What are you doing here?" he had asked them. "Get back to your own table."

The Slytherins spun round, and when they saw who it was, openly laughed at him. "I don't think so," said Rosier. "We don't take orders from Gryffindors, you see."

"You're not welcome here," Sirius said.

"Oh, we're doing nothing wrong... We were just informing Summer here of our bets..." Dolohov smirked.

"Get out."

"Don't you want to know what our bets are?"

"I said get out." James was close to breaking point. The nerves for the match and now this, were getting too much for him.

"Well, we were just wondering whether she'll last the whole match on the broom, or whether she'll fall off halfway through... You can break your neck from that high, you know..."

Summer looked terrified, but James had had enough. He gave Dolohov a shove in the chest, who simply laughed and gestured to the rest of the Slytherins that they were going back to their own table.

"Gits," Sirius muttered.

James agreed, and sat down next to the girl. "Look, Summer, what they said-"

"Yeah, I know, I shouldn't get scared of stuff people like that say, but... I still do," she sighed. "It's my first match, and I'm not sure I'm up to it..."

"You are! You'll be absolutely great, don't worry," he assured her, sounding more confident than he felt. "You're a great flier."

"But what if I fall off? What if I don't catch the Quaffle? What if-"

"Summer, seriously, you'll be great. You're one of the best players I've ever seen, so don't worry." He stood up, and started to walk back to his seat, but he turned back for a second. "Hey, and good luck!"

She smiled at him. "You too."

James and Sirius returned to their seats, where Remus looked at them with a vague sort of scowl. "Why are you two always getting into trouble?"

"We didn't!" Sirius defended. "It didn't even come to wands!"

"It was pretty close," said Remus. "In the Great Hall, too... When will you learn?"

"Remus, they were picking on one of my teammates, what was I supposed to do?" James said.

"Okay, you maybe, but what about Sirius?"

"I was there for moral support," he said.

Remus had replied something, but James didn't remember what. He had more important things on his mind now; like the match tomorrow. The whole team was ready, but was he?

As he got into bed, Peter's soft snoring filling the dormitory, he wondered whether he was even fit to be the Captain.

* * *

On the morning of the match, James woke with a start, banging his head against one of the posts on his bed. While he rubbed it, he realized that this was they day: his first match as Captain.

He got up, leaving the other four boys in the dormitory sleeping, and made his way down to breakfast. It was quite early, and the Great Hall was not even half-full yet, but there was already a faint buzzing of excitement. The Slytherin table was full of people decked out in green and silver, and the Gryffindors with contrasting reds and golds. As he ate (a lot, for he would need strength for the match), a few people came over to wish him luck. That's why, when someone sat down next to him, he thought it was probably another excited Gryffindor.

"Hey, Potter," Lily said from his right. He looked round, surprised to see her at breakfast so early. She usually came down later, although that might have been due to Avril, who James suspected to have trouble getting up in the mornings.

"Evans," he smiled at her. He couldn't help looking her up and down, for this was one of the few occasions when she wasn't wearing her school uniform. With red and gold baseball boots, jeans, a black t-shirt, and a Gryffindor scarf that completely clashed with her hair, she looked quite gorgeous to James.

"It's rude to stare, you know," she joked, repeating the words he had said to her, what seemed such a long time ago. He laughed, remembering.

"So, ready for the match?" she asked him.

"Uh... no, not really. I mean, yeah, but no," he sighed.

""Yeah, but no?"" she asked again.

"Physically, yes. The whole team is rather good, even though I may say so myself, but... I don't feel ready."

"How come?"

"I'm too nervous."

"Oh, right. Well, that's only natural, isn't it? Your first match as a Captain and all that."

"Yeah... What if I mess up?"

"If you mess up, no Gryffindor student will ever speak to you again," she said solemnly. When she saw the look on James' face, she burst out laughing. "I'm joking! You won't mess up."

"Why are you so sure?"

"Because you're a good player, so you'll be a good Captain. Logic," she said confidently.

"You're just saying that to cheer me up."

"Of course, but it doesn't make it less true." She smiled at him, and then spotted Robyn and Dorcas coming in to the Great Hall. Both of them were decked in red and gold. "Well, I'd better go... See you later, yeah?"

"Yeah, see you later," he said.

She got up, and looked at him. "Oh, and good luck, James." She walked off, and sat down at the other end of the table, where Robyn and Dorcas were.

It took James more than a minute to realize that, for the first time, she hadn't called him "Potter".

* * *

The crowd was in the stands, expectant for the match that would be starting in less than five minutes. Over in the Gryffindor stand, which was completely covered in their colours, Lily sat with her friends, and the other three Marauders.

Sirius had produced a whole bag full of sweets (Merlin knows where from), and they were all snacking from it. Everything around them was noise, colour and expectation.

Lily looked at the field. There were no players there yet, and the grass was ruffled by a smooth breeze. It was cold, and slightly windier than they had hoped, but it was not raining, which everyone was thankful for.

She absentmindedly reached for a Chocoball, and rubbed past someone's hand by accident. Apologizing, she saw it was Peter.

"Hey, Pete, I wanted to talk to you," she said. He raised his eyebrows: it wasn't that they didn't talk to each other or anything, but they weren't best friends either. "Yeah, uh... did Avril say anything to you?"

He went bright red, then nodded. "She, she did, yes..."

"About Marylin Bones?"

"What else would she have spoken to me about?" he joked.

"She told me about it yesterday, too. So, what do you think?"

"What do I think?" he wondered. The question was directed more to himself than to Lily. "I don't know... I mean, she's cute, isn't she?"

"I think she is. She's a really nice person, too."

"Oh, do you know her?"

"Yeah, I used to give her Potions tutoring."

Peter smiled. "You're so nice to everyone, it's no wonder you're a Prefect."

Lily returned the smile. "Thanks, Pete. So, will you speak to her and stuff?"

"I don't know... I mean, what would we even talk about? I don't even know her."

Avril, who had caught a few words of the conversation and got what they were talking about, spoke to Peter. "She won't really mind what you talk about. If she likes you, she'll just be happy that you're speaking to her."

"I guess," Peter said, visibly brightened.

"You might be interested to know, she's a fan of the Wimbourne Wasps, so-" said Robyn, also overhearing the conversation.

"Are you kidding? So am I!" Peter exclaimed.

"Well, you can talk about that then, can't you?" Lily was pleased. "She's over there," she said, gesturing towards a row of seats a bit higher than their own. "You could go and watch the match with her..."

Peter thought about it for a minute, and then grinned. "I think I'll do just that, actually." He got up, and started up the steps. Lily, Avril and Robyn watched him as he sat down next to Marylin, who brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, and giggled cutely.

"Aw, sweet," said Avril. "They'd be kind of nice together, wouldn't they?"

"Yeah," Lily was about to say, when there was a new arrival. They all looked up, and saw a lanky guy in an over-sized dark coat. Everyone recognized him, for his shady reputation. They all knew what he wanted right now.

Sirius laughed and clapped him on the back. "Hey, Dung! I'm guessing you're not just here to chat?"

Mundungus Fletcher, for that was the newcomer's name, grinned widely. He was missing a front tooth, a surprise to none of them. He had been in a fight last week, with a Slytherin, and had been punched in the face several times. The reasons of the fight weren't really known, but it was accepted that it had probably been about some bet or other.

"Ah, Sirius, you know me so well..." He produced a notebook from his coat, along with a pencil. "So? Any bets?"

Sirius laughed again. "Go on, then... Three galleons for Gryffindor."

"What? Are you kiddin' me?" Mundungus cried. "Only three galleons? I'll have you know the Clearwater brothers are bettin' ten galleons each, and Gideon Prewett is bettin'-"

"Oh, alright," Sirius sighed, rooting around in his pocket. He fished out some more coins. "Five galleons, no more."

Mundungus grinned, wrote it down in the little notebook, and turned to the others. "Anyone else?"

Remus and Lily both shook their heads. It wasn't good for a Prefect's reputation to place bets, although it wouldn't be the first time for either of them. Avril, on the other hand, fished out all the money she had in her pockets.

"Here, two galleons, five sickles and three knuts. I'm betting Gryffindor will win, but only close."

"How much by?" Mundungus inquired, writing it down.

"Uh, twenty points?"

"Twenty points," he finally wrote down. "Okay, so, no more bets?"

The rest shook their head.

"Ah, well... I'll go an' see if Johnny wants to... He'll say Slytherins gonna win, mark my words..." Muttering vaguely about his bets, he wandered off towards the Ravenclaw stands, to find "Johnny".

"Oh, I hope Gryffindor win..." Avril said. "I don't think I've even got any more money!"

"Yeah, and you've got to pay off that other bet with Dorcas, remember?" Robyn reminded her. Avril groaned.

"What other bet?" Lily asked curiously.

"Oh, nothing..." said Avril. Lily was about to ask more, when suddenly the crowd around them roared. They all looked around, and saw the two teams walking out onto the pitch.

"You know, we really need a commentator..." said Sirius.

"True," Avril agreed. "Why don't you commentate?"

"What?" Sirius couldn't hear her over the noise of the crowds cheering, yelling, and booing.

As James had stepped out onto the pitch, his heart had been pretty close to stopping, or at least that was what it felt like to him. He and the team strode into the center, where Madam Hooch stood. She indicated that the Captains should shake hands, which they did. The Slytherin one was Emma Vanity, a gorgeous blond-haired girl, who James knew to be the biggest heartbreaker in her house. They glared at each other as they crushed each others hands, and stepped apart. Everyone got on their brooms and flew up high.

The very air around them seemed tense, as Madam Hooch suddenly blew her whistle, thre the Quaffle up, and the game began. It was a fast game to follow, which was why most of the crowd had binoculars.

Lily was looking through hers at that exact moment. Gryffindor had the ball: Aaron Jones, who passed it to Dorcas, who passed it to Summer, who... was intercepted by a Slytherin whom Lily didn't recognize, who threw it to their Captain, who passed it to Dorcas (obviously by mistake), who passed it to Aaron, who was near the goalposts and who... SCORED! The roar went through the Gryffindor stands, and everyone stood up in their seats.

"Yes! YES!" Sirius yelled, jumping up and down.

The Slytherins booed, sounding nothing other than bitter.

The ball was back in Slytherin hands now, with the Emma Vanity passing it to Evan Rosier, who passed it back to the Captain, who passed it back to the Slytherin Lily didn't know... What was his name?

"You're right, Sirius: we really do need a commentator," she said to him.

He grinned. "I know! I don't even know half the Slytherins' names-"

The crowd suddenly gasped as one, and Lily looked around. She couldn't see anything, but nudged Robyn. "What happened?"

"A Bludger hit Rosana Black on the back... She looks like she's hurt herself."

Lily looked around, and at last spotted the player, who was still on her broom but looked like she was going to be sick. Meanwhile, the rest of the Chasers had not noticed anything (for Rosana had not called a time out and was flying again), and were rapidly approaching the Slytherin goalposts. It was almost too fast for Lily to see, and suddenly Gryffindor had scored again!

Their House cheered, and the Slytherins booed even louder than last time.

It felt good to be in the lead, and it gave the Gryffindor players a boost to keep playing. However, the Slytherins were starting to play rougher, and a few minutes later they scored, giving their House something to cheer about.

It was tense, both players and crowd completely focused on the game.

And James was one of the most focused there. He flew around the pitch, looking around him as he went. Where was the Snitch? At times he thought he saw it, but it was either a reflection or... what was that? He spun round as he saw a flash of gold, but was disappointed when he saw it was only a gold stripe on a Gryffindor scarf.

It pleased him, however, how many people had come to watch the match, and how many supporters there were. Banners (some of which Robyn, being the best drawer in their House, had painted), scarves, flags, hats... It was brilliant to fly over them as they roared the team's name, soaring through the air, the wind ruffling his hair...

Lily watched him through the binoculars, following his path through the sky. He looked incredible on a broom, so natural. Like he was meant to be flying. He also looked rather hot, she admitted to herself. Recently, she had found herself thinking that more and more, which surprised her. The previous year, she would have found such thoughts unthinkable, but now... Well, things had changed.

"Hot, isn't he?" Avril smirked, seeing where she was looking.

"Wha- Who are you talking about?"

"Oh, don't pretend, Lils," her friend laughed. "You were practically drooling."

Lily went bright red. "I don't drool, and never over the likes of James Potter!"

"Why not? I think he's rather hot..."

"He is, but..."

"But what?" Avril asked her. "What is it about him that you don't like?"

Lily thought about it. It was a familiar question to her by now. "I don't know."Avril waited for her to carry on, and eventually she did. "I really don't know. Everything about him is perfect; he's clever, he's funny, he's kind, and he really likes me. But there's something that..."

"Something that what?"

"Something that I don't even know how to describe. You know, just last year I hated him. He was horrible to Sev..."

"He deserved it," Avril muttered darkly. She had never liked Snape, and had often said so.

"Even if he had, James was really mean. Maybe I can't forget that..."

"Lily, it's not that and you know it. You're just making excuses for yourself. If you don't like James, then-"

"I do," said Lily.

"Then what's wrong? You know he likes you, you said so yourself. He'd be a great boyfriend."

"Oh, I know..." Lily sighed. "It's just... I've never been out with a guy before."

"You have, you went out with Jacob Williams last year, and-"

"That was one night..."

"You went out with Max McDonald a while ago, and with that Ravenclaw, what was his name..."

"Abel Clearwater," said Lily.

"And with Wyatt Mckinnon, and loads of others... Let's face it, Lily, you've been out with loads of guys."

"Yeah, but it's-" She was interrupted as Slytherin scored again. Everyone around her booed loudly, while the opposite stands celebrated. Gryffindor scored a goal a minute later though, and Lily was almost deafened by the yelling. "But it's never meant anything," she said, as the game continued and the noise died down slightly. "It was nice, they were all really nice boys, but it was never special or anything."

"And you think that maybe if you go out with him now, it will be the same?"

"Exactly."

Avril sighed. "Look, Lily, if you don't want to go out with him then don't. No one is going to force you to."

"I know that, but..."

"But?"

"But he's got such high expectations of me," she said in a small voice. It was the first time she had admitted it out loud.

Avril stared at her for a second, and then burst out laughing. "Sorry, I shouldn't laugh, but... Oh, Merlin, your face... You looked so worried!" When the giggles had finally subsided, she carried on speaking. "Look, Lily, he fancies you like crazy. I don't see what the problem is."

Lily didn't say anything.

"You'd make a cute couple, you know. Dorcas thinks so..." said Avril, remembering the bet she had placed with her. "And I bet Robyn does too."

"What about me?" said their friend. She had been speaking to Remus, but turned round towards them after hearing her name.

"Oh, I was just saying Lily would be perfect for James, and that I thought you would agree..."

"Agree on what?" Sirius interrupted, curious. Remus also looked interested in the conversation.

"That Lily and James would make a cute couple," Avril informed him.

"Well, I certainly agree, and so does Remus, and so does- Hey, where's Peter?" Sirius wondered, noticing for the first time that his friend wasn't there.

"He went to sit next to Marylin," said Robyn.

"What Marylin?"

"Marylin Bones. She fancies Peter, and he doesn't dislike her, so he went to speak to her. Over there," Avril pointed at the two of them, who were chatting and laughing together.

"Oh my stars! Hear that Remus? He's got himself a guuuurl," Sirius drawled. The rest of them laughed. It was not often that Peter approached a member of the opposite sex, and even rarer that he was liked by one. "Anyway, what were we talking about? Ah, yes, how well Lily and James are suited."

"Oh, will you give it a rest..." Lily blushed.

"It's true, though. He thinks so too..."

"Who does?"

"James," Sirius pointed up to a figure zooming above them. "He really fancies you. Like, he won't stop talking about you."

"That's true," added Remus. "He goes on about you 24/7."

"They'd be really sweet together, wouldn't they?" Avril said.

"Very."

"That's what I told Lily, but she won't hear of it."

"It's not that," Lily tried to defend herself. "It's-"

"Look, Lily-flower, do you fancy him or not?" Sirius asked her.

The eyes of everyone in the group were focused on her, and she sat still, feeling her cheeks go red. She wasn't sure what she should say, or if she should say what she really felt, or how they would react to what she was going to say. She opened her mouth, about to answer, but suddenly everyone around them gasped.

They all spun round, afraid they had missed something important, which in fact they had. It was apparent from where the looks of the crowd where directed that something serious had happened to Summer. She was folded over double on her broom, in obvious pain.

"What happened?" Lily wondered.

A Gryffindor sitting in the line behind them answered, "She got a Bludger in the stomach."

"Oh, the poor thing," said Avril. "It looks like she's going to be sick..."

She did indeed. A few other members of the team flew over to her, to see if she needed anything. A few seconds later, James called Madam Hooch for a time out, and they all landed back on the ground.

"Summer," he said to his teammate, "listen. You've got to breathe in and out, okay? Go on, breathe in deeply."

Summer tried to do as he said, but it looked like the pain was too much for her.

"Breathe in, breathe out, come on, Summer," James urged her.

After various attempts, Summer finally managed to breathe in deeply. She was folded up almost double, clutching her stomach, breathing in and out, until she finally managed to stand up straight again.

"I'm sorry, it's just I couldn't breathe..." She looked around her, and seemingly became aware for the first time that she was standing in the middle of a pitch, with the whole of Hogwarts watching her.

"You were probably winded..." James said. "Do you think you're alright to fly now?"

"Yeah, I think so." James called over to Madam Hooch, who blew her whistle. The players all flew into the air, and the game began again.

"Poor girl, though," said Sirius. "She's only titchy, a Bludger could do a lot of damage."

"I'm surprised she wasn't knocked off her broom," Avril agreed.

A few minutes later, Slytherin scored again, and then again, and once more before Gryffindor managed to slip a goal in. It was a close match, with Gryffindor at 40 and Slytherin at 50, and all the players were starting to get tense.

Which showed a lot, especially when Rosana Black tried to pull at the end of the broom Aaron Jones was on, nearly causing him to shoot off the front of it. Gryffindor was awarded a penalty, which Summer took. She was visibly nervous, but smiled once more when the Quaffle sped right through the hands of the Slytherin Keeper and straight into the middle hoop. The crowd cheered as she beamed.

Five more Gryffindor goals, and another eight Slytherin ones were scored, making the red and gold house extremely nervous. Not to mention James, who was flying round the pitch faster than ever, trying to concentrate as the Slytherins cheered once more.

And then, suddenly, the Snitch was there. Right there, like it had been waiting to be seen all along. Had anyone else seen it, though? He looked around, and saw that no one had.

Judging by the distance, if he tried rushing towards it, he would probably draw attention to himself. It was right next to the Slytherin Seeker, so he definitely wouldn't get there first.

James suddenly sped forwards, towards the ground, but in the opposite direction of the Snitch. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Seeker speeding after him, barely a green blur. They were close to the ground, and the crowd gasped as James suddenly pulled out of the dive and flew towards the sky. The Slytherin, however, crashed head-first onto the ground.

"Agrippa! Is he alright?" Avril said, leaning forward to get a better look.

The Seeker stood up as Madam Pomfrey ran towards him. His nose was bleeding heavily, but she soon fixed him, checked him for concussion, and patted him on the back. He mounted his broom again, and flew up, a bit unsteadily.

Meanwhile, James had lost sight of the Snitch. He had been so sure it was around here... His heart seemed to stop as he saw it again, fluttering lightly over at the other end of the pitch. It took him barely a second to lean forward and begin flying towards it.

"Has he seen it?" Lily wondered. She watched through the binoculars as James sped up, but she also saw the Slytherin Seeker catching sight of James and tagging him.

Up in the air, James realized it too, and leaned forwards further, his chest against his broom handle. The Snitch was in front of him, almost as if it were waiting to be caught...

The two Seekers were neck and neck, right next to each other, and they both reached out at the same time...

James felt his fingers brush past the golden ball, and it was suddenly in his hands. He grinned and lifted his fist high into the air as the crowd cheered underneath him.

The rest of the team flew towards him, pressing against him as they all flew to the ground. The Gryffindor supporters flooded the pitch, all of them cheering and whooping in celebration.

There was Kingsley, a broad grin on his face, and Dorcas, jumping up and down in excitement, and Aaron with Summer on his shoulders, and all around him there was noise and colour, red and gold...

Later, up in the Common Room, there was also a lot of noise and colour, due to the party Sirius had organized for the team. There was food and drink (a lot of both) set out on a load of tables, and Robyn's banners were hung from everywhere. The music pounded loudly.

James sat on the floor by the fire, his legs crossed and a glass of Butterbeer in his hands. He might just have a had a glass too many... It felt like the whole Gryffindor House had come over to congratulate him, which was good, but got a bit weary after a while. His muscles ached from the strain of the match, and all he really wanted to do was go to bed and get a good night's rest.

Suddenly, Lily sat down in the empty space beside him, also holding a Butterbeer.

"Come to congratulate me? Feed my ego a bit more?" he smirked.

She grinned back at him. "Like you even need it... But yeah, congratulations. You played well."

"Thanks. So, how come you're not partying wildly?" he said, gesturing towards the center of the room, where most of the Gryffindors were still dancing and drinking.

"Not really my sort of thing, you know. I'm only really here because of Avril, she likes a good party." Her friend, was, indeed, right in the middle of the room, dancing. A couple of boys were eying her eagerly, but Lily knew they were wasting their time. Avril would never go out with anyone, at least not seriously.

"Oh, don't you like parties? Because there's no books, I suppose," James teased her.

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Nah, I like parties, just not too many of them. And why aren't you partying? Seeing as it's mostly in your honour..."

"Oh, I have been... But I'm kind of tired after the match and whatever..." She looked beautiful tonight, her hair falling on her shoulders in a rather wild way. What would she do if he kissed her now?

"Oh, right..." Lily was about to say something else, when she suddenly jumped as if she had been stung. She put her hand in her pocket, and brought out a galleon. Looking at it intently, she turned it round in her hand a few times.

"What is it?" James asked her. She started, as if she didn't even remember he was there.

"Oh, it's... it's nothing... Sorry, but I've got to go, okay? Talk to you later..." She got up, and left the Common Room.

James watched her from the floor as she climbed through the Portrait Hole. Shit... Why was he never brave enough to kiss her? He had kissed so many girls before, but this one? This girl was different. She was so perfect, so funny and smart and beautiful... He sat there, trying to bring up the courage to tell her how he felt when she came back.

* * *

Outside the Portrait Hole, Lily looked around her. It was dark, but a couple of torches hung in brackets on the wall. It seemed like she was alone, but she knew she wasn't.

"Sev? I know you're there..."

When she spoke, it was like a shadow materialized itself and stepped forward. He seemed taller than the last time they had spoken, and his hair was a little longer, but other than that he was exactly like the boy Lily had spent half her life with. Her heart ached as all the memories flooded her mind, but she stopped them quickly.

"Well, what do you want?"

"I wanted to see you, and to say I'm sorry," he answered. His dark eyes looked into Lily's green ones, and they seemed to her to be full of remorse. "I know I've said it a million times, I know that... But I have to make you understand."

* * *

On the Common Room floor, James gazed around him. There were beautiful girls all around him, but it was like they were flat, two dimensional. Like they weren't really real. Sure, they were attractive, and sure, some had really brilliant personalities, but none of them were like her.

Lily Evans... She was the only one who seemed real to him. What a cliché, he thought vaguely.

* * *

"Please, just let me explain..." Severus begged her.

"You've explained so many times Sev, why would this time be any different?"

"It isn't. I feel exactly the same as I did the minute that... insult... escaped my mouth."

"Look, Sev, if-"

"Please, just hear me out. If you're still not convinced that I'm sorry after you've heard everything I have to say, then I promise I'll leave you alone. Okay?"

Lily didn't answer, simply crossed her arms and glared at him.

"Lily... I am so, so sorry. I shouldn't have said what I did, and I swear to you I didn't mean it. I was angry at Potter, he's just so..." There was a loathing in his every word, and he realized it. "Even so, I shouldn't have called you a Mudblood, and I'm sorry. I'll do anything to make you see that. And Lily... I miss you. I really do. All the time we spent together, does that mean nothing to you?"

She looked at him, and in that moment she saw it all. All the memories, all the laughter, the trust they had had on one another. Their friendship had been a big part in both their lives for so long, it was impossible to forget. His eyes pleaded with her silently, and for a second she found in her heart a small spark of doubt. Was she really going to give up all of that for a mistake Sev had made?

He spoke again. "Please... I will do anything to show you how much I regret saying what I did. I'm prepared to wait, but I couldn't let you go without telling you one last thing."

* * *

In the Common Room, James was having an internal debate. He wanted to kiss her so badly, but what if she didn't want that? What if she moved away from him? It would ruin everything they had right now. They were friends now, they enjoyed spending time together, but what if he threw all that away, just for a kiss?

But then again, what if that was what she wanted? She had approached him tonight, so it wasn't like she didn't want to see him or anything...

He stood up, and left his Butterbeer on the mantelpiece. Crossing the Common Room in barely a couple of strides, he climbed through the Portrait Hole. He stepped out slowly, and looked around him.

His heart stopped.

There, in the middle of the hall, Lily was kissing Severus.


	25. A Tale of Lily's Tale

_**Thanks to everyone who reviewed previous chapters, love you so much 3**_

* * *

It was like everything in front of him stopped, and he saw it from every angle: the two of them, just standing there kissing. The guy he hated and the girl he...

He couldn't even react. He just stood there, numb. His body was numb, his mind was numb, his heart was numb. No, it wasn't. In that moment, his heart was anything but numb.

It was cracking in half, and if he didn't do something soon, it would surely shatter.

But what was there to do? The two people in front of him kept kissing, not even noticing he was there. A low gasp suddenly escaped him, and Lily broke apart and looked around. When she saw and recognized him, the look on her face was too much for James. He turned round slowly, and stepped back through the Portrait Hole.

His mind was clouded by the drink, and his body seemed to respond a little too slowly. In a second he was in the Common Room, and in two he was back in the dormitory. It was empty: the others must still be down at the party, he thought.

He lay down on his bed, trying desperately to stop his mind from wandering to what he had just witnessed. It was something he had never wanted to see, and which he thought he never would.

Well, there had been times when he had wondered... What with Lily and Snivellus being so close... And it had been obvious to everyone that that git fancied her like mad. But he had dismissed it as pure paranoia, for what did he have, to be paranoid about? Lily had never been his in the first place, he thought miserably.

Anyway, Lily wasn't the kind of girl you could call "yours". She was rather more liberal than James had thought at first, but he liked it. She wasn't the kind of girl who would just depend on a guy, or on a guy's wishes, and that's why James knew that if she was kissing Snivellus, it was because she wanted to. She wouldn't have been forced or convinced into it.

Also, Lily wasn't the sort of girl who just kissed a guy for no reason. Or for fun. She would only ever kiss someone if she liked him a lot, James knew that.

The way she had been kissing that git broke James' heart.

He was so busy wallowing in hurt and self-pity that he barely heard the knock on the door. He did notice, however, when the door opened and the girl he was thinking of stepped inside.

"Hi," she said.

Hi? Is that the best you can think of after I see you snogging that evil git? But he said nothing.

"I, er... I don't really know what to say." She sat down on the bed, right next to him.

"Then don't say anything."

"I feel like I have to, though. I'm really sorry you had to see that."

"Look, Evans, it's a free country, you're allowed to kiss whoever you want," said James. He stood up and leaned against the wall, looking at her. "Why are you even here? I'm not your boyfriend, you don't have to justify yourself to me."

His words were cold, and a shiver ran down Lily's spine. It hurt to hear him speak like that, although she knew he was right. "I don't know why I'm here, really. I just thought-"

"Well don't, okay?" he threw at her. "You don't owe me an apology, you don't owe me anything. Leave me alone, go off with Snivellus or something."

Lily winced. "James, I-"

"You what? You didn't want to kiss him? You looked like you were enjoying yourself when I got there."

"James, I regret ever-"

"You regret having kissed him? Why? Because I saw you?"

Lily didn't say anything, just looked at him, but James began to feel the anger forming inside him.

"Look, Evans, you're allowed to kiss whoever you want, okay? It's none of my business who you snog. I'm not your boyfriend, I don't own you, so why are you even here?" She remained silent. "It's because you know I love you, isn't it? You know I've been in love with you for what seems like forever. But even so, you don't have to explain yourself to me. You don't... But go on, say something! Anything!"

Still she didn't answer, just kept looking right into his eyes. James felt the ache in his heart, knowing that there was no going back after what he had just said.

Lily was completely still, her head resting against one of the posts of the bed. The irony of the situation, of him having the girl he loved in his bed, struck him and he suddenly laughed. She looked at him, wondering if he had lost leave of his senses, but James couldn't help it.

"James, are you okay?" she asked him.

He laughed again (because how was he going to be okay after this, ever?), but after a while the chuckles subsided. "It's ridiculous, isn't it?"

"What is?"

"All of this. You, me... Snivellus."

"Don't call him that," Lily sighed.

"Oh, it's true, though. What's the point of any of it? Why do we even bother with love?" He was quiet for a second. "Man, that was deep."

Lily couldn't help herself, and a small smile pulled up the corner of her mouth. She patted the place beside her, and James sat down there.

"I'm so tired." She leaned her head on his shoulder, and it rested there perfectly, just right.

"Well, imagine if you'd just played a Quidditch match, imagine how tired you'd be then..." He yawned. Lily did too, and he noticed how cute she looked when she rubbed her eyes so sleepily. But then suddenly she looked serious again. She moved her head, and readjusted her position, so she was sitting cross-legged in front of him.

"James, I want to tell you something."

"Okay..."

"It's going to take a long time to explain..." She nibbled at her lip, not sure if she should really go through with this.

"No problem. The guys will be downstairs for ages yet."

"Alright, then." She took a deep breath, and began to speak. "As you know, I come from a family of Muggles." He nodded. "Well, around the age of four, I began to show signs of magic. At the time, no one knew what it was. My parents were completely baffled, and my sister was wary of me. I grew up feeling different to everyone around me. To be honest, I was terrified: of not being accepted, of not being able to control what I did... There were accidents, you see. Nothing serious, but things like Petunia's hair falling off, stuff like that. I didn't know what I was doing, I didn't know if I could do anything... And then I met Sev." Her expression was almost blank, but James could tell that what she was telling him was important to her. "I was eight or nine, I think. I was going through a rebellious phase, you know? My parents were like "you don't know what you're doing, don't do it", and my sister tried to stop me. She couldn't, of course. When Snape first appeared, she was terrified. Neither of us liked him at first. But then I got to know him, and I was really happy. Because at last, there was an explanation to what I could do. I wasn't alone anymore." Her eyes narrowed as she remembered something, but she didn't cry. "I was worried about being Muggleborn. But he... he said it didn't matter. He told me not to worry about it. He knew so much, about Dementors, and Azkaban, and the Ministry... I believed him."

"Lily, it doesn't matter..."

"I know it doesn't, but I also realize now that it does matter to some people, me being a Muggleborn. But anyway... Sev became a big part of my life. He was the friend I could truly rely on, he was always there for me, especially when I needed him the most... I remember this one time, I set fire to the teacher's desk in the middle of my Maths class. No one found out it was me, but the teacher burnt her hand. I felt so guilty... I ran home crying, but my parents didn't understand, so I went to the park, and he was there. He always was." Her breath caught for a second, but she still tried to stay calm. "And then, at last, we were eleven. We were so excited, it was unbelievable. I barely knew anything about Hogwarts at the time, but Sev kept saying he wanted to be in Slytherin, so I just thought I would be too."

"Remember that first day on the train?" said James.

"Of course," Lily smiled. "You and Sirius really wanted to be in Gryffindor, and Sev wanted the exact opposite. What did he say: if you'd rather be...?"

""Well, if you'd rather be brawny than brainy..."" he imitated Severus' voice.

"Yeah, that was it... He got Sorted into Slytherin, as you know, and I got Sorted into Gryffindor. He was... annoyed. He said Gryffindor was the worst House to be in, it was full of show-offs. But I started making friends, you know... Avril, and the rest in my dormitory... They were fun to be with, although it wasn't special like with Severus. I was still friends with him, though, so that was okay." A dark expression clouded her eyes. "But then he started hanging around guys like Mulciber, and Rosier... They loathed people like me, and to be honest, I loathed them back. I mean, you know what they're like." James nodded. "He started hanging around with them more and more, and sometimes he'd say he couldn't meet up because he was with them. And then... Well, you were there, you know what happened. We were both stressed because of our OWLs, but that was no excuse. It was like someone had opened my eyes, and I finally saw Sev for what he really was: a horrible, Muggle-hating Slytherin." She was quiet for a moment, then took a deep breath. "But I couldn't forget what we'd had. It had been so special, just the two of us... I couldn't just let go. So every time he came to tell me he was sorry, I listened. Maybe I was hoping he would convince me, say something that really excused what he had done... But he was always "I shouldn't have said that to you", instead of "I shouldn't have thought that". That was the problem, that he still thought like that. This summer was terrible, I was so bored... Pet wasn't talking to me, although that's nothing new. I didn't really have anyone to talk to, except the occasional letter from the girls..."

"It must have been awful."

"It was, although at least it wasn't too long. Then the term started again, and that was great," she smiled. "But then Sev started approaching me again, saying he was sorry, like he hadn't said it a million times before. And tonight..."

"What was that coin you were looking at?"

"Oh, yes, that..." She took it out of her pocket, and handed it to James. It looked exactly like a normal galleon, except for the fact that around the edge it said "I'm outside the Fat Lady. Please come?". "It's a coin, we enchanted it with a Protean Charm so it says whatever we need it to say."

"That's pretty cool, actually," James handed her back the coin.

"Yeah. So he sent me that message, and I just thought I should go and hear him out. I saw him there, and it was like... like nothing had even happened. Like he'd never called me a Mudblood. It was like the old times, when it was just Sev and me. He apologized, and I think for a second I was ready to forgive him. Maybe not to forget, but at least to forgive?" She sighed. "I don't know. But then he said... he told me he loved me."

James' heart felt like a fist, clenching and un-clenching as she spoke. It was painful, but she kept on.

"Then he just kissed me. Just like that. To be honest, I was too shocked to react at first, but then... I kissed him back."

Ouch, James thought, as his heart gave another throb. "Do you love him?" he asked her. He was not sure if he wanted to hear the answer.

"No!" she looked shocked. "Of course not."

"Then why did you kiss him back?"

She was silent. "I don't know. I was... confused? Really, I have no idea. I shouldn't have kissed him back, I realize that now. But I just missed him so much..."

James was glad that Lily was not the sort of person who cried a lot. He wasn't that great at comforting crying girls. "So, what are you going to do?"

"Again, I don't know. What do you think I should do?" she looked at him, straight into his eyes.

"You're asking me for advice?"

She nodded.

"Lily, I have no idea. But I guess this is something you should try and sort out? Are you sure you don't love him?"

"I don't think so. If I loved him, I probably couldn't have told him we wouldn't be friends anymore. I just miss him..."

James didn't say anything, because what was there to say? So he moved closer and put his arms round her.

"Why did he have to do that?" she said. "Why did he have to kiss me? He's just bringing back old memories..."

"He probably misses you too, you know."

She looked at him. "James, why are you so good to me? You just saw me kissing your worst enemy, and now you're trying to comfort me... why?"

"You know why."

Lily could see the pain, almost physical, etched on his face: in the hard line of his jaw, in the sad look of his eyes. It broke her heart to see him like this.

The door burst open, and Sirius appeared in the doorway. He had his tie knotted round his head, and was holding onto the frame of the door, as if he were about to fall over.

"Oops," he said, slurring the word. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No, no," Lily said, standing up. "I was just going. I guess I'll see you around, James."

"See you," he said, but she was already out of the door.

Sirius flopped down on his own bed. "I was interrupting, wasn't I?"

"Nah..." James sighed. "There's nothing to interrupt." But then why was he feeling like that was exactly what had happened? And why was Lily, already in her own dormitory, feeling the same?

* * *

_**I'm not sure about this chapter, so please tell me what you think. Especially if it's Constructive Criticism :)**_


	26. A Tale of Hogsmeade and 8 Butterbeers

The next day, both Lily and James awoke in their own beds. They got dressed separately, and went down to breakfast, Lily with her friends and James with his. The rain poured down from the enchanted ceiling, but thankfully dissolved before drenching the students.

The Daily Prophet was full of bad news, but that was nothing new. After months of attacks on Muggles, Muggleborns and what were beginning to be called "blood traitors" by some, the articles about it were familiar to everyone.

What was new, however, was the return of Alice Fortescue. Lily first noticed her as she and Avril, Dorcas and Robyn all sat at the Gryffindor table. Alice was sitting at the other end, and when Lily saw her she stood up and went to her.

"Alice, you're back!" she cried, sitting down next to her and giving her a hug.

"Yeah," Alice said. There was still a trace of sadness in her, but at least she was smiling. "How have things been here?"

"Uh, they've been alright... Well, Dirk Cresswell tried to do himself off while under the Imperius curse, and Leah Potter tried to do Remus and me off, also while Imperiused. But apart from that, nothing new."

Alice looked shocked, and Lily laughed. "Yeah, okay, that wasn't really funny. It was quite serious, actually, but as there's been no other attacks since..."

"Blimey. Were you all okay?"

"Yeah, in shock really. Remus cracked his head open, but he's alright now. Oh, and Gryffindor won the match!"

"Really? How much by?"

"I can't remember... But by quite a bit, I think... Avril had to pay off this bet she'd made with Mundungus."

"Is he still betting? You do know, as Head Girl, I should probably report him." Alice smirked. "Ah, well, he'll never change..."

"He won't, he's a lost cause. But anyway, how are you?" Lily asked her tentatively.

Alice sighed. "I'm alright. Going home has been good for me, and I was with my mum and stuff, so that was good too. The funeral was pretty awful, though. Still... I'm back now. It's good seeing Frank again, anyway." She smiled over at where, a few seats away, her boyfriend was with his friends, eating breakfast. "He's been so supportive."

"I'm glad. It is good to see you, Al."

"Good to see you too, Lily."

Lily said bye to her, and with a last smile went back to her seat. She sat down next to Avril.

"So, how is she?"

"She's good," Lily said. "It must be hard for her, but she's doing okay. To be honest, I'm glad she's got Frank."

"What, Frank Longbottom?"

"Yeah... He seems like a nice bloke. It must be nice, having someone who will always be there for you, whatever you tell him." As she said that, she remembered the night before, and what a good listener James had been. He had heard out her whole story, and she was grateful for that. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him at his end of the table, laughing at a joke Sirius had just made.

She got up, and walked towards him. He looked up as she got nearer, and his grin faltered for a second, but was back in place before anyone except Lily noticed.

"Hey, Lily-flower," Sirius greeted her. "Sorry about last night, uh... I think I was a bit intoxicated."

"It was probably all that Firewhiskey you sneaked up from the kitchens," she laughed.

"But yeah, I get the feeling maybe I shouldn't have interrupted you two," he said, eying James significantly. Lily blushed.

"Oh, there was nothing to interrupt..."

"Funny," Sirius mused. "That's the exact same answer James gave me."

"Yeah, well... I kind of wanted to speak to you," she said, looking at James. "Do you fancy a walk?"

He stood up, and they got out of the Great Hall. The general chatter of the people having breakfast died down as they walked away. It was raining hard outside, so they just stood in the doorway of the castle, looking out. It was not the place that mattered, Lily thought, but what she had to say that did.

"James..." Long gone were the times when they called each other by their surnames. So much had changed between them in such short time. "I just wanted to thank you."

"There's no need," he said automatically.

"There is. I was confused last night. I almost forgave Severus... He was just so convincing, you know? He really is sorry, but for the wrong reasons."

"How's that?" James didn't understand what she was saying.

"He's sorry he upset me, he's sorry I'm not his friend anymore," she sighed. "But he's not really sorry for what he said. He still doesn't believe, truly, that he was in the wrong. And I now realize that he never will."

"So you still don't...?" He trailed off, unsure of how he would sound.

"I still don't love him?" She was good, almost too good, at knowing what he was thinking. "No, I don't. Not even as friends anymore. But anyway, that's what I wanted to say: thank you."

"Lily, there is nothing you have to thank me for. I just did what anybody would have done."

"But still, I needed to tell someone all that shit, and you were there for me. So yeah. Thanks," she smiled at him, and then turned to watch the rain pouring down onto the grounds.

There was a certain beauty in rain, she thought, as she looked out. Sun was good, but the idea of the clouds opening, and emptying their water down on them, appealed to her.

"How do you do that?" James asked out of the blue.

She turned her head to look at him. "Do what?"

"That thing where you're just talking to me, and you suddenly turn really mysterious, and you look away..."

"Oh, uh, sorry."

"No, it's not a bad thing. Quite beautiful, actually," he said.

Lily tried hard not to blush, but there was nothing she could do. Her cheeks turned a light pink. How was it possible that this boy always made her blush? Whenever they spoke, her heart started fluttering nervously, and her cheeks felt like they were constantly on a radiator. What was it about James Potter?

"We'd better get back," he said. "Or they'll all start thinking we're making out."

She grinned at him. "I think that's what most of them are hoping for."

The rain poured down all through November, a month which brought only the event of a Hufflepuff-Ravenclaw match. It was exciting for Lily, but nowhere near as much as when her House had played. Ravenclaw won by a long way.

The rain carried on pouring right into December. It was possible that every student in the school was wishing for snow, but it had still not come.

It didn't come when Dorcas wished for it. She was sick of practicing Quidditch in the rain, for it was cold and miserable, and she could barely see the players, never mind the ball. The rest of the team wished for the rain to stop as much as she did.

It didn't come when Robyn wished for it. It was her habit to take long walks in the grounds (sometimes even in the Forbidden Forest, although that was something she had never told anyone), and she didn't enjoy them as much when it rained. She felt trapped, holed inside the castle when what she wanted to be doing was walk around the grounds in the sun, or if that was not possible, in the snow.

It didn't come when Avril wished for it. She also liked going around the grounds in her spare time, although it was usually in company. There were corners all around the gardens of Hogwarts (by the lake, by the castle walls, under the shade of the trees), that were always pleasant when she took a guy there. During the past few months, she had been with a whole number of guys, and they had had to make out inside, which was not nearly as nice. Although maybe it was a good thing that she wasn't encouraged: lately, having spent so much of her time with boys, her marks had been going down. Especially in Defence Against the Dark Arts, in which she's got a D for her last essay. She was thinking about asking someone for tutoring, but she would have to find someone who was willing.

And Lily? Yes, she wished for it too. She enjoyed snow, for the grounds looked beautiful covered in white. Also, Christmas was soon coming, which was her favourite season. All the food, that warm sort of feeling, and all those presents...

Speaking of presents, she had to buy them. For her family, and friends. She loved giving stuff away, but most of all she liked choosing things for them. It was a tradition between Avril, Robyn, Dorcas and her that they never bought each other stuff, they always made each other presents, or gave them something second-hand. They always exchanged presents on the last day before the holidays.

But for her family, she could buy stuff, so she decided to use the Hogsmeade trip, which was rapidly approaching, for that purpose.

It was drizzling, as it had been for days, when she walked out of the castle towards Hogsmeade. Avril, Dorcas and Robyn were with her, chatting animatedly. There was a sense of freedom in being let out of the castle, and it was always pleasant.

"Hey!" someone called from behind them. They turned round simultaneously, and saw four boys coming towards them. Sirius was the first to reach them, and he smiled at them warmly. "How are my gorgeous girls today?" he winked.

Avril giggled. "Oh, you're such a charmer. So, are you guys joining us for our shopping trip?"

"Shopping?" James, Remus and Peter reached the group.

"Yeah, you know, Christmas presents and all that," Dorcas explained.

"Oh, right. Fine by me," said Sirius. He looked at the other three boys, and they nodded, so the whol group set off towards the main shopping street in Hogsmeade. The rain started falling heavier, so they went into the first shop they arrived at, which happened to be Gladrags Wizardwear. They shook off the rain on the mat by the door, and filed in. It was warm inside, and the shop assistants didn't mind them being there, so they decided to hang around until the rain relented a bit.

Lily looked around the hangers and shelves. Most of the clothing in there was for wizards, but there was also a whole line of Muggle clothes (which Lily supposed was for wizards in the Muggle world). She shifted through it, not really sure what she was looking for. Lily wasn't really into shopping, and didn't usually enjoy clothes-shopping at all.

"What are you looking for?" a voice asked from behind, making her jump. She turned round, already knowing who it was.

"Oh, Merlin, will you stop doing that?" she asked James. But she knew he wouldn't: it was a habit of his, sneaking up on people.

"I can't help it!" he shrugged.

"I guess not... I'll just have to get used to it."

"So, anyway, what are you looking for?" he looked over her shoulder. "That's a nice t-shirt, it would look nice on you."

"Thanks... But it's for my sister. As a Christmas present, you know. I think it would suit her... what do you think?"

He laughed, "I've never even seen her, Lily. I don't know what she looks like. But if you think she'll like it, then she probably will. She's your sister, isn't she?"

"Yeah... Yeah, I think I'll get it for her." She picked up the t-shirt in Petunia's size, and had a look around the shop. "And I have to find some socks for my dad, too."

"Socks?" he raised an eyebrow.

She grinned at his confused look. "Oh, I know it's typical, but it's a kind of tradition. He gets me some socks, and I get him some. We've been doing it since I was about six... We have to pick out some really unusual ones, you know."

James laughed, the corners of his eyes crinkling (Lily always noticed that), and they went over to the socks. There were hundreds, all different colours, shapes and sizes. Some spoke when you put them on, some flashed like Christmas lights, and a pair even changed colour according to your mood. When James and Lily tried them on, they turned to a deep red shade, which puzzled them both. It was obvious that blue meant peaceful, and that green meant jealous, but red?

In any case, Lily bought a pair of socks that glowed in the dark for her dad, and a flowery scarf for her mum. She payed for all three things, and went over to the far side of the shop, where Sirius was amusing everyone by trying on the different hats. He was at that moment wearing a bright pink beret, and looking himself in the mirror while he pretended to twirl an imaginary mustache.

Lily and James both laughed at the sight of him, but he looked indignant. "What are you laughing at, my dear people? I think this hat rather suits me..." He put it back on the shelf, and picked up a large, floppy sunhat, clearly intended for a woman. "Oh, no, this one really looks good... Brings out the colour of my eyes, you see?" He placed it on the shelf again, and suddenly opened his eyes wide. "Wow! Look at that!" His finger pointed to the line of hats, but no one saw anything particularly special on it.

"What? What is it?" Peter asked him.

Sirius didn't answer, but instead lunged for a hat. He picked it out, and everyone finally saw it. Deep purple in colour, it was an elegant (almost too elegant) fedora. He pulled it on, and it settled around his hair.

James laughed loudly. "You're going to wear a fedora?"

He stuck his tongue out at her, and carried on looking at himself in the mirror. "It's called a trilby, you uncultured git, and of course I'm going to wear it." With that, he marched off to the cashier, where he proceeded to buy the hat.

"But it's not even the weather for hats like that..." said Remus, looking at the rain pouring down outside.

"So? I can wear it when it's warmer again, can't I?" he looked at his hat happily. "Still, I feel kind of daft carrying it around. I'll send it back up to the castle." He drew his wand, and the hat vanished, presumably to have appeared in the boy's dormitory.

"Anyone fancy a drink in the Three Broomsticks?" He didn't wait for their answer, but simply strode out of the door. The rest of the group looked at each other, but then followed him.

"Agrippa, it's bloody cold..." Dorcas muttered as they all walked down the street. They were all grateful when they spotted the glowing warmth flooding through the windows of the Three Broomsticks. It didn't take them long for them to reach it and go inside.

That pub was always a good place in winter: warm, with good food and drink, there was always someone to talk to.

Also, Jenna Rostmerta was always there. Now, Jenna was not what you would call a permissive barmaid. If she ever had any problems with anyone in the pub, she would throw them out with no scruples. But she was undeniably sexy, a fact which had not escaped any straight male student in Hogwarts.

The four Marauders and the four girls sat down in a corner. Sirius asked them all what they wanted, and crossed the room towards the bar. He leaned against it, and Jenna came over to him.

"Hey, Sirius," she greeted him, pushing a stray blond curl behind her ear. "What can I get you?"

"Eight Butterbeers, please. You're looking nice today," he noticed.

She didn't blush, for Jenna Rosmerta was not the kind of girl to do so, but instead looking at him with a half-smile on her face. "Not looking too bad yourself... It's been a while since I last saw you," she said, pouring the drinks.

"Last Hogsmeade trip," remembered Sirius.

"Yeah... Fancy carrying on what we left off?" she winked at him as she went off to attend another customer. When she came back, Sirius sighed.

"Look, Jenna... That was one night," and indeed it had been. The last time they had seen each other, things had escalated quickly, leading to the two of them in the back room. Sirius had had to leave it at that (having a curfew always got in the way of that kind of thing), despite them both having wanted more. "And now- Well, things are different now."

She looked at him, and then laughed. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"Depends what you think I'm saying," he grinned.

"You're dating someone?" He didn't say anything, just kept grinning. "Oh my Merlin, Sirius Black dating someone! This has got to be a first."

"It is, actually," he admitted.

"Is it someone at that table?" she asked him curiously, nodding towards where the Marauders and the girls were sitting talking.

"Nope."

"Pity, the girls are rather cute... Is that Lily Evans next to James?"

"Yeah," said Sirius. "Why?"

"I thought they didn't get on? It seems strange to see them so close, without ripping each other's heads off."

Sirius nodded. Truth be told, it surprised him too. The friendship that had developed over the past few months between James and Lily was definitely unexpected. But it made Prongs happy, and it was pleasant to have a rest from their fighting.

Jenna gave him the drinks on a tray, so he thanked her and made his way carefully back to his seat. As he sat down, he couldn't help but watch his best mate and Lily, and the way that they spoke to each other. They always listened to what the other had to say, often teasing and laughing. There was something in the way they looked at each other that made Sirius smile.

"What are you grinning at?" Avril asked him quietly.

"Just... Look at them," he said, nodding at Lily and James.

She did, and smiled. "They're so happy. You know what? I think they should be together."

"Mmm..."

"I mean, it looks like they're together already, with the soppy grins and the inside jokes... Like a couple, you know?"

"Yeah, I get what you mean." In all the time they had been on this trip, James had spent most of his time with Lily.

"It's a pity, though..." said Avril.

"What is?"

"I've got a bet on with Dorcas, that they won't be together by the end of the year. She ships them, you see."

"Ships them? What in Agrippa's name is that?" he asked her, amused.

"It's like, when you think they'd make a good couple, and you want them to be together. Dorcas says she ships them more than she ships Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen."

"Who are they?"

"I think they're from Muggle show she watches."

"Right... So shipping is basically when you think two people would be good together? Well, I guess I ship them too, then."

"Mm," Avril nodded, sipping her drink. "I think I do too."

When they had all finished their Butterbeers, and were sufficiently warm again, they decided to go back out to the shops, where everyone still had to get presents for their family and friends.

They traipsed along the main street in Hogsmeade, which was mostly composed of shops and pubs. Lily always enjoyed coming to the town, but on this occasion especially. It was a good feeling, walking down the middle of the street with all her friends, looking in shop windows, every so often going in to buy something.

Honeyduke's was particularly appealing to all of them, so they crammed inside the already-full shop, and stocked up on their fair share of sweets.

"Want some beans?" James asked her as the two of them went back outside. The rest of the group were still deciding what they were going to get.

She nodded, and James picked out a deep purple bean for her.

"Blackberry. It's your favourite, right?"

She nodded, smiling. "How did you know?"

"Well, it's the one you always pick out, so I guess that was a kind of clue," he teased.

She was touched that he had noticed such a small detail as that, but didn't say anything. They were silent for a moment or two.

"Merlin, it's effing freezing out here..." James shivered in his thin coat.

"Do you want my coat?" she asked him.

He grinned, but then realized she wasn't joking. "What? You'd probably freeze to death if you took your coat off in this weather."

"No, really," she said. "I don't feel the cold. Like, it can be minus degrees outside, and I could still go out in a t-shirt."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. I guess I'm just weird like that."

"I guess you are," they both laughed. "In any case, wouldn't it be a bit weird if I borrowed your jacket? Like, isn't it meant to be the other way around?"

She raised an eyebrow. "I think you'll find that's what's commonly known as a stereotype."

"Mmm..." he thought about it, and realized she was right. "Sorry."

"It's okay. I guess someone as silly as you can't tell when he's being a stereotypical prat," she tried to look serious, but laughed.

He did the same, and then paused for a second. "So, uh... can I borrow your jacket?"

"You really want to? Why?"

"Well, first because it's flipping freezing out here, second because I think it would suit me. Everything suits me," he said modestly. "Third, because I wouldn't mind seeing if you really don't feel the cold. And fourth because I want to prove to you that stereotypes don't matter to me. It's just that I didn't realize that that was one until you pointed it out."

She looked at him for a moment, and then grinned. She took off her thick coat, a dark one with fur round the hood, and handed it to him.

He held it up by the shoulders. "There's no way in hell this is going to fit." Nonetheless, he tried it on, struggling as he tried to push his arms through the sleeves. "You're so titchy."

Lily blushed. It was true that she was thin, and not very tall either. James stood at least a head and a half higher than her.

When he finally got it on, and did it up, Lily burst out laughing. The sleeves reached just past his elbows, his hands sticking out comically. "Yes, it really suits you, James," she smirked.

"Do not mock me," he said with dignity, turning round to see his reflection in the shop window. "I think it looks rather dashing."

As Lily laughed again, the rest of the group came outside to join them. They blinked at James, and laughed too.

"Isn't it meant to be the other way round, though?" Peter said. "The guy lending the girl his jacket?"

"That is a stereotype, Pete," Sirius shook his head in disapproval. "And you'd do best not to say that again if you don't want your legs jinxed off. I'm proud to say, I've never stereotyped anyone..." he trailed off, as a thought occurred to him. "Hey, fancy playing "I've never"?"

"What's that?" Dorcas asked him.

Remus groaned. "It's a game... A terrible, terrible game that is best forgotten..."

"Why? Is it really that bad?" said Avril. "I like the sound of this."

"It's not so much the game, as what happened after it," Remus explained. "The last time we played, it ended with all four of us waking up with a hangover, not remembering much of the previous evening."

"Wow, sound like fun! So, how do you play?"

"How about we go back to the castle, and I tell you all the rules there?" Sirius announced to the group in general.

They all agreed to, although Remus didn't look best pleased. At least it was a Saturday the next day, though, so they wouldn't have to get up early, or go to class pretending they didn't have a hangover.

When they arrived at the castle, the girls started towards the Common Room, but Sirius quickly stopped them. "The game we're going to be playing is probably not for the innocent eyes of first years," he said, worrying them slightly. "How about we go out onto the roof?"

"The roof?" Lily repeated incredulously. "Are you kidding me, Black?"

"No... Okay, it sounds dangerous, but there's actually this place, sort of on the roof and sort of not, where it's not dangerous at all. It's rather beautiful, too," he said, knowing that would appeal to her.

She pursed her lips, wondering whether this was a good idea, but finally decided to follow him. They climbed narrow stairs that Lily didn't even know existed for a while, until they reached the top of the staircase, and saw the place Sirius was telling them about.

There was a wide space, about eight steps on way and six the other, right on top of the roof of the main building, where the floor was completely flat. It was tiled with slate, the same as the roof, but looked safe enough. The view from there was incredible: as there were no walls out there, they were able to see all of the grounds, the Lake, Hagrid's hut, the Forbidden Forest... All of it at once. It was beautiful, and that was probably what made Lily nod at Sirius. He grinned evilly. Whatever this game was, Lily had a feeling she might regret it.


	27. A Tale of I've Never

The space on the roof was beautiful, but the rain had been pouring down onto it for hours (and still was), so it was completely soaked. There was no way any of them would sit down in a puddle of water, so Lily cast an Impervius Charm over the whole place. It was a spell they had learned not long ago, and the effects were instantaneous: it looked like there was an invisible dome, arching right over their heads, the rain splattering on to it as they sat down on a newly dry rooftop.

"What's this game, then?" Dorcas directed her question at Sirius. "I've never even heard of it."

"Well, we all take turns in saying something we've never done," he said, explaining to the whole group. "So, like, I say "I've never jumped off a rooftop" and whoever has jumped off a rooftop has to drink."

"So it's a drinking game?" Lily asked sceptically. "And what's so brilliant about it?"

"You get to find out about stuff I've done, I get to find out about stuff you've done, and all of us get drunk."

"Right..." She sighed. "Okay, then. At least we haven't got classes tomorrow."

"Great! I'll go get the drinks," Sirius said, standing up. He left, clambering back down the staircase.

"I'll go too," said Avril, following him.

When she had gone, Dorcas turned to Lily. "Do you think Avril really fancies Sirius?"

Lily nodded.

"Like, a lot?"

She nodded again.

"Well, I don't think Sirius is going to go out with her," said James. "He's been acting really odd lately, not flirting with anyone. Which is unusual for Sirius."

They all agreed: it was strange that Sirius, who was known as one of the biggest "flirters" in Hogwarts, would suddenly stop this year.

"Hey, wait up!" Avril called after him. He was at the end of the corridor, and didn't hear her. She finally caught up with him when he was opening a small cupboard, standing in one corner in the corridor. "Blimey, you walk fast," she said.

He jumped, and turned round to face her, but looked relieved when he saw who it was. "Merlin's pants, Av, you gave me a shock..."

"Is that where you keep the drinks?" She gestured towards the cupboard.

"Yeah... Only no one was meant to find out... Don't tell anyone where I keep them, okay?"

"Of course not! I was rather impressed that you always managed to sneak drinks into the Gryffindor parties." He started pulling bottles of Firewhiskey out of the cupboard. "Are we going to drink all of these?"

"Well, that depends on how many embarrassing things you've ever done, I guess," he grinned at her.

"Mmm, yeah, I've done a few in my time..."

They had six bottles in total. Sirius decided they were enough, and both of them started back towards where they had come from.

"Black, are you dating anyone right now?" Avril asked him directly. She had never been one to beat around the bush.

"Uh... Why are you asking?"

"Just wondering, you know. Are you or aren't you?"

"It's complicated..." he sighed.

"So you _are_ dating someone?" She tried not to show how hard that had hit her.

"As I say, it's complicated. Are you dating anyone right now?"

"Nah, not at the moment," she said, as they reached the rooftop again.

Lily widened her eyes. "Are you seriously planning on drinking all of those?"

"As I was telling Avril here" he grinned, opening the bottles, "it depends on how many things you've done that we're curious about. Sooooo... Who wants to start?"

They were sitting in a circle, the bottles of Firewhiskey in the middle.

James put his hand up. "Okay... I've never fallen off my broom playing Quidditch."

Dorcas and Peter picked up a bottle each, and took a swig. Dorcas, who was not used to drinking much, gasped as the hot, burning drink hit the back of her throat.

"Oh, yeah, Pete, I'd forgotten you fell off... Last summer, wasn't it? In my back garden?" James laughed. Peter went red.

Next to James was Lily, and she said "I've never been so drunk I've been sick."

Avril laughed, and reached for a bottle. So did James, Sirius and Peter.

Lily looked at them. "You've all been so drunk you've been sick?"

"It was only once," James defended himself.

"My turn," Robyn said. "Alright, I've never dated anyone."

Everyone except Remus drank, passing round the bottles.

"Really?" Sirius asked her. "Like, you've never dated anyone at all?"

"Yep, really. There's never been anyone I've liked enough, you know. So I've never seen the point in dating someone I don't like."

"Mm, I guess you're right."

"It's me next then?" said Sirius. "Right... To carry on with the dating theme: I've never been set up on a blind date."

Avril drank, to no one's surprise, but what did surprise them was the fact that Lily picked up the bottle too.

"Lily-flower? Are you kidding me?"

She blushed. "Yeah, well... Avril knew all about this, of course..."

"I set her up on it," her friend explained. "It was when Wyatt Mckinnon fancied her, her asked me if he thought he had a chance... And well, I thought they would be alright together."

"You never told me that!" James exclaimed.

"Well, why would I? You two hated each other back then."

James had to admit that was true. "Alright... It's your go now, anyway, Av."

"I've never kissed someone of my same sex."

James, Lily, Sirius and Avril all drank.

"It was in a game of Truth or Dare..." Lily sighed. "But how come you three have?"

"Oh, I was teaching this girl how to kiss..." Avril muttered. "She had no idea, and she had her first date in three days, so she asked me if I would teach her... so yeah."

"And my excuse is that I was very, very drunk," said James. "It was the night I was sick, you know, and I um... I kissed Sirius."

They all stared at him.

"What? I was really drunk, I didn't even know what I was doing!"

"Yeah, that's my kiss too," Sirius added quickly.

After a moment or two, Peter spoke up. "I've never swum naked in the sea."

Avril groaned, and took a sip. She was the worst off, and the alcohol was already starting to go to her head.

"Well, that's something I wouldn't have minded seeing," Sirius winked at her, and she smirked.

"Moving on..." said Dorcas. "I've never been in love." There was a moment of silence, everyone looking at her.

James took a swig, but sighed as he saw Lily didn't. Sirius took another, and so did Avril.

"Okay, so who have you been in love with?" Dorcas asked curiously.

"Ah, now that would be telling..." Sirius drawled. He had also had a few drinks.

"I think it's my turn now," said Remus. "I've never been rejected by a girl."

"How do you mean?"

"Like, I've never tried to kiss one and they've turned away. Or asked them out and they said no."

The only one to drink was Peter, and everyone laughed, although not cruelly.

"It's me again." James thought for a moment. "I've never... Been on this roof before."

"You're just doing that to get me drunk!" Sirius exclaimed, drinking. "You know I'm the only one who's been up here before..."

James laughed because his friend was right, and Lily took her turn. "I've never asked anyone out on a date."

Avril, James, Sirius, Peter and Dorcas drank.

Robyn thought for a second, and then said, "I've never had a crush on one of my friends."

No one drank, which was a relief to them all: a crush was usually awkward, and rarely ended well.

"Okay, I've never Apparated illegally," Sirius took his turn.

James and Remus drank.

"Remus?" Lily looked shocked.

"Only once! I had to go and see my mum, you know..."

"I never thought you had it in you," she said, half joking.

"My turn, my turn! I've already thought of one," Avril cried. "I've never fallen in love with a guy who's a lot older than me."

"How much older?"

"Uh, at least six years older," she decided.

No one drank, so Peter said, "I've never... uh... touched a girl... down there."

Sirius howled with laughter, and took a long swig. James also drank.

"Does it count if you've touched yourself?" Avril wondered.

"No," Peter said, blushing.

"I've never..." Dorcas started, but couldn't think of one. It took her a while before one came to her. "Okay, I've got it. I've never played this game before."

All four Marauders drank.

Remus thought of one, "I've never touched a guy "down there", as Peter so charmingly put it."

Avril and Dorcas giggled, and both drank.

"My turn, then," James said. "I've never called anyone a Mudblood."

There was a moment of awkward silence, but they were all glad to see that nobody drank.

"Right, uh... I've never kissed anyone." Lily said. "I mean, started the kiss."

James, Sirius, Avril, Peter and Dorcas all drank.

"I'm starting to feel a bit... dizzy," Avril drawled. "I think I'll... Nah, I'll stay."

"Alright then," said Robyn, who had not drunk any yet. "I've never had sex."

Sirius, and Avril drank first, laughing. James drank too, and Lily looked at him. For some reason, this seemed to bother her, but she could not understand why. She wasn't jealous, was she? No, it wasn't quite that...

"I've never drank five bottle of Firewhiskey," said Sirius, with a slight hiccup.

They all laughed, but no one drank.

"Okay, my turn..." Avril said. "I've never ever fallen in love with one of the people here."

James sighed as he realized he was the only one who was going to drink, and raised the bottle to his lips. He looked straight at Lily, and it was probably in that moment that she realized she really did love her. It was not a crush, it was not a faze, it would not fade away with time. James Potter was really in love with her.

She had never loved anyone before.

Months, even years later, she would remember that moment. It wasn't that she fell in love with him, exactly. But maybe it was the moment when she started to.


	28. A Tale of Presents and Hide-and-Seek

**Thanks for all the reviews, even if some of them didn't get to me through the "Review" section. Also, I want to tell Ranma's girl1 that I've added something about Leah here. I wasn't going to say until further on, but... There you go. I hope you enjoy it :)**

* * *

"So, looking forward to your Christmas holidays?" James asked Lily, sitting down next to her in the Common Room. She was trying to do some homework, but it looked like she probably wouldn't be doing much studying with James here. She closed the book.

"No. I'm staying here," she said, a slight blunt edge to her voice.

James, who had never been a particularly tactful person, didn't pick up on it. "How come? Don't you usually go home?"

She sighed. "Usually, yeah... But I was writing to my mum, and she says they've got a big party to celebrate Petunia's engagement... To be honest, I can't really be bothered. I mean, I'm not even sure if I'm invited to her wedding, so..."

"Oh, right. Sorry," he said.

"No problem. Are you looking forward to the holidays?"

"Yep, but I'm also staying here. Marauder's tradition."

"Oh, yeah, I'd forgotten you four always stay here at Christmas." She smiled. "At least I won't be alone now. I was imagining opening my presents alone, and it was not a cheerful image."

He laughed. "Well, it looks like you're going to be spending the holidays with us." He called over to where Peter, Remus and Sirius were sitting, playing Exploding Snap. "Hey, Lily's staying here this Christmas!"

All three boys looked round at him, and grinned when they saw how excited James looked. It was fun to tease him about how much he liked (or "luved", as Sirius put it) Lily Evans, but all of them were secretly pleased for him. He had doted on her for so man years now, and it was good to see them together, even if just as friends.

* * *

A few days before the holidays started, all five Gryffindor 6th year girls met in their dormitory to swap presents. Angeline was new to this ritual, but they had decided to include her. After all, she was their roommate.

Avril stood up, and walked into the center of the room. The other four looked at her expectantly. "Okay, so here are my things. I hope you all like them," she grinned, and started walking around the room, handing around her presents.

Dorcas squealed as she unwrapped hers. It was a clay model of a broomstick, but somehow had managed to enchant it to fly around, and so it whizzed past all their heads before returning to Dorcas.

Robyn also liked her present: it was a clay Crumple-Horned Snorkack (or at least, a model of what Robyn had described them to look like).

Angeline got some earrings made of clay, which were hand-painted in a bright pink, her favourite colour.

Lily was really pleased with hers: it was a clay ink pot, carved with Lily's initials. "Oh, wow, Av! You've really got into clay this year, haven't you? It's really nice, thank you."

"Yeah, well, I can't make you a work of art like Robyn here," she grinned at her artist friend.

"Shall I hand mine out?" Robyn asked them. When they nodded excitedly, she stood up and passed out her presents. They were all paintings, and all beautiful; Dorcas' was of the lead singer of The Hobgoblins, who had long been her crush; Angeline's was a painting of Hogwarts ("well, 'cos you're new and all, you haven't seen it as much as the other three"); Avril's pictured the Eiffel Tower, which she had always wanted to visit; and Lily's was...

"Did you paint that from memory?" she asked Robyn, who nodded happily. "Wow, Rob, it's amazing..."

The canvas portrayed the roof top place where they had been a few weeks before, and a group of eight people sitting in a circle. It brought up all the feelings Lily had had that night, and it was a beautiful present.

"Well, mine are going to be a bit shit in comparison, but anyway," Dorcas gave out hers.

Vanilla perfume for Robyn.

Rose perfume for Angeline.

Mango perfume for Avril,

and lavender perfume for Lily.

"Did you make these yourself?" they asked her.

"Yeah, my mum showed me how to make perfume a few years back, and I thought it would make a nice present, you know."

"It does," Lily sprayed some on, and inhaled deeply. It was a sweet, strong aromatic scent, and it fitted her perfectly.

"My turn," Angeline said, handing around hers. There was a wooden comb for each of them, and they were all painted by hand. Lily's had her name on it, surrounded by white flowers which she saw were lilies.

"Oh, these are beautiful," Dorcas said.

"Yeah, I'll use this," Avril added. Hers had broken a moth before, and she had been using Lily's since then.

"I'll give you mine now, okay?" Lily handed hers out, and waited for their reactions. She had managed to learn how to knit over the summer, and had made them all scarves: Dorcas' was red, orange and yellow stripes; Avril's in blue and green; Robyn's in rainbow (because she had always said she had no favourite colour, she loved all of them equally) and Angeline's in different shades of pink.

They all told her they loved them, and tried them on. They were the right length, and looked really warm and cosy.

Avril gave Lily a big hug, and said to her "Friendship never ends...". Which was cheesy, but described all of their feelings exactly.

* * *

The day after, all the girls left, each to their own family, except Lily. She waved them off, smiling and trying to look happy for them.

There was an ache inside her. She always loved Christmas holidays, and would have loved to spend them with her family. But she had a feeling she wasn't welcome in Petunia's life anymore, and she didn't want to spoil her party by being there. Her parents would do fine without her, and in any case she would see them at Easter.

What bothered her most though, was being bored. It looked like she wouldn't have much to do...

Suddenly, someone jumped on her back. She very nearly toppled over, but managed to stay standing up somehow.

"Agrippa's sake, Sirius, give me a bit of warning!" she cried out, laughing.

"Go on, Lily-flower, give me a piggy-back ride," he begged her.

"Nah, get off, you're too heavy," she giggled, throwing him off.

He grinned at her. "So, seeing as everyone's left, and it looks like it's only us five in the school... Well, apart from some Hufflepuff 1st years, but they don't count... What do you fancy doing?"

"Oh, I don't know," she said, as the other Marauders caught up with them. "What do you guys want to do today?"

"Well, we're definitely not playing "I've never" again," Remus stated clearly. "I had the worst hangover the next morning..."

"We know," Sirius laughed. "It was impossible to speak to you until lunch time, you were buried under so many blankets."

Remus scowled at him, and they all laughed. Lily felt a little lighter than she had a few minutes before. That was the effect the Marauders had on her: they might exasperate her at times, but they could always make her laugh.

"So, any of you fancy a game of Hide-and-Seek?"

"Sirius, are you serious?" Lily laughed.

He stuck his tongue out at her. "Oh, you're so comical, Lily-flower... Like I've never heard that joke before. And yes, I'm both serious and Sirius, if you know what I mean... I like Hide-and-Seek."

"Yeah, but... I don't know, isn't it a kids game?" Peter doubted.

"Of course. But I'm still a big kid, and so are you all. Are we playing or not?"

They laughed, but agreed to play Hide-and-Seek with him. It was decided that Remus would be It, and when he started counting, they all ran off in different directions.

"Oy, wait for me, Lily!" James called after her. She stopped until he caught up, and then carried on walking quickly.

"Won't it be easy for us, though?" she wondered, looking in a broom cupboard and dismissing it. Not enough space. "This castle is rather big, in case you hadn't noticed. There's no way he'll find us."

"Ah, but we use magic, you see," he explained. "The person who's It is allowed to use any spell they want, which can be useful if you're trying to find someone."

"Oh, right... But I thought we weren't allowed to do magic outside of lessons." She didn't think Remus would approve of breaking the rules.

"Well, they don't have to find out about it. I mean, come on, how dangerous is a "Point me" Spell?"

Lily had to admit that she had never found those spells particularly harmful, and so they carried on down the hallway in silence, until James thought of something. "Okay, I've got the best of places, come with me." He took hold of her hand, which was something Lily could not get used to. It sent a tingling feeling down her spine, however many times he did it.

They ran down corridors until they reached the seventh floor and took the left corridor. James lead her past the same spot three times, and Lily began to think he had gone crazy, when suddenly a door appeared. One second it was a blank wall, and the next there was a solid, physically-there wooden door.

James turned the handle quickly, and pulled her through. They were in a small room, not unlike Gryffindor Common Room: it had a similar fireplace, and two armchairs opposite each other. There was also a small table with a jug of Butterbeer on it.

"Like it?" James asked her, sounding as proud as if he had constructed the room himself.

"Yeah, it's nice. I'd never been here before." She looked around her, taking everything in. The armchair looked comfortable, which she soon found to be true.

James sat down opposite, picked up a Butterbeer, and handed her one too. "I only found out about it last year. I was walking along this corridor, looking for somewhere to hide something, when-"

"Something?" she was curious.

"Uh, yeah... It was one of Remus' books, if you must know. I'd spilled some Pumpkin Juice on it. But anyway, I was in the corridor, and suddenly this door opened, and I came inside. And it looked different, kind of bigger and full of loads of random objects. So I spread out the book so that the pages would dry, and left it here. I came back the day after, and gave the book back to Remus."

"Why didn't you just use a spell to take off the Pumpkin Juice?"

He looked at her, and then slapped his hand against his forehead. "The truthful answer is because I didn't even think of it."

She laughed, and he carried on with his story. "I came back a few weeks later, just to see if I could still find the room. At first I thought I was in the wrong one, but then I realized that every time I needed the room, it would appear differently. It would fit my needs, if you see what I mean?"

She nodded. "It's a cool room."

"Yeah. Weird thing is, it's unplottable."

"How do you know?"

"Uhm, I..." She looked at him suspiciously, and he sighed. He pulled a piece of parchment out of his pocket. "Okay, we have this map..."

"We?"

"Me, Sirius, Peter and Remus."

"Doesn't look like a map," she said, staring at the blank piece of parchment.

He tapped it, and announced "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good" and Lily gasped. For on the parchment, spreading from the center, a maze of dark brown squiggles had started to appear. They followed a fixed route across the parchment, and it suddenly clicked inside her mind.

"It's Hogwarts, isn't it?"

James grinned. "Yep."

"Merlin... Where did you get it?"

"We made it. All four of us."

"You never!"

"I think you'll find the grammatical aspect of the phrase "you never" isn't quite correct," he smirked.

She stuck her tongue out at him, "But seriously, though, you actually made this yourselves?"

"Uh-hu," he nodded. "We started off at the beginning of last year, and finished it at the end. Took us a while, but it's been worth it. I mean, just look at that," he pointed towards the edge of the map.

"That looks suspiciously like a secret passage leading into Hogwarts. Am I right or am I right?"

He laughed and took a moment to admire how smart she was. If he had seen a map like this without knowing what it was, he probably would have been completely confused. He smiled at her, but she was too busy gazing at the map to notice.

"So you can track people around the school?" she traced a finger over the moving dots that were labeled. Right now, she could only see Remus (who was walking up a staircase), Peter (who was hiding behind a statue), Sirius (who was on the flat rooftop), and a handful of teachers.

He nodded.

"Stalkers," she muttered. If only you knew, James thought, thinking of all the times he had pulled out the map simply to see where she was. Borderline on stalking. "It's absolutely brilliant, I have to admit," she said, handing him back the map.

"Is that a compliment?" he winked.

"Take it as you will," she answered quickly, taking a sip of her Butterbeer. "Who knows about it?"

"Just us four. Oh, and you now. I hope they don't mind I showed it to you..."

"Shall I pretend you haven't?"

"Nah, it's okay. They shouldn't mind, anyway."

"What are you going to do with it after you leave Hogwarts?" she asked him. "I mean, it's not like it will be very useful once you don't have to sneak out of here..."

"I hadn't thought of that, actually." He fell into silence for a moment, and then grinned. "I'll give it to my first born child."

She laughed. "Really?"

"Yeah, why not? I mean, I expect my kid will be a real trouble-maker, so a map like this will definitely come in useful to him."

"What about the other three? Won't they want to give it to their kids?"

"Uh, I don't know if they'll have kids... Sirius has always said he won't, Remus isn't interested in dating a girl, never mind having a kid with one, and Peter... well, he's Peter, isn't he. I don't think he'd be much of a dad."

"And you've already decided you're going to have kids, have you?"

"Yeah, of course!" he said, and it didn't escape Lily's notice that his eyes lit up when he spoke of this. "I want to have loads and loads of kids. A really big family, you know? Because mine... wasn't."

"No?" she looked at him, worried about the new tone of his voice. He sounded sad, only it wasn't exactly that. More depressed. "But you've got your parents, and your sister..."

"Yeah, well."

"What?"

"She's not actually my sister."

"What?!"

He sighed. "Not many people know this, okay. She's adopted."

"Oh, right... I didn't know." A second after, she realized how stupid that had sounded.

"She's something like a second-cousin once removed or something like that. Her parents died when she was about three, and they decided to take her in. Because only a few months after I was born, my mum got hit by a bus. It turned out alright, I mean she's still alive, thank Merlin, but..." As he said that, it looked like a dark cloud passed over his expression. "In St. Mungo's, they told her she couldn't have kids anymore. She was kind of devastated."

"I'm so sorry..."

"Yeah. Me too, and not because I particularly wanted siblings at the time. It was just she was kind of sad from then on. Like she was missing something."

Silence filled the room, broken only by the sound of the crackling fire. Lily thought of her family, and how they hadn't been exactly happy, either. There was always an underlying worry for her parents, and that was her. They worried about the inexplicable things she could do, about why they happened and whether they would get her into trouble. And Petunia had been nice to her until Snape had appeared, but from then on it had only been cold silences and the odd muttered "freak!". She was getting married now...

"So, you're sister's getting married?" he said, making Lily start slightly.

"How did you know I was thinking about that?"

He grinned broadly. "I'm psychic."

"Yeah, right," she scoffed. "What am I thinking right now then?"

"You're mentally admiring the beauty of my features, and thinking of how much you want to marry me" he said.

She couldn't help but laugh. "You're an A+ asshole, James Potter."

"I try, Lily. I try... Hey, look!"

She did, and his finger was pointing to a dot on the Map. Looking closer, the label said "Remus Lupin", and he had just found Peter.

"Well, that was a bad hiding-place..." she noted. "Does Remus know about this place?"

"I don't think so. I've never told him about it."

"Why not?"

"It never came up, I guess."

They gazed at the Map in silence, tracing the steps of two of the Marauders.

Lily suddenly spoke. "So, how did you know I was thinking about that?"

"You looked half sad and half confused, and that was the exact look you gave me the other day, when you told me about the engagement party."

"Oh, right." She hadn't quite believed him, but she was still relieved to find he wasn't psychic.

"So how come you're not there?"

She sighed. "I... don't get on with my sister."

"Like me, then, really."

"You and Leah kind of get along now though, don't you? After she was in the Hospital Wing and that."

"I guess..." Truth be told, he had been speaking to Leah more since then. It was pleasant, really.

"Well, me and Petunia don't get on, like, at all. So I'm probably not invited to her wedding, let alone this party."

"Right..."

"Also, I don't like the guy she's getting married to. He's an A+ asshole, but a real one this time."

"Meaning I'm not?" he grinned.

"You're not as bad as him, I can tell you that."

They both grew silent as they noticed Remus had found Sirius too. "Looks like we're the last ones to be found," James said.

"Yep. We win," she agreed.


	29. A Tale of FIve Burning Letters

**Thanks for all the great reviews, everyone! And could you please review this chapter, I really want to know what you think of it :)**

* * *

"I think we should do something," were Sirius' words as he met up with the Marauders at breakfast. They weren't actually having it in the Great Hall. Instead, they had decided to bring up the food to the Common Room, seeing as there weren't any people there who would mind, and the teachers weren't particularly strict on rules during the holidays .

"You know, whenever you say that kind of thing, it usually ends badly..." Remus sighed. "In any case, how do you mean?"

"Well, it's the 31st today. Last day of the year and all that. So we should do something, to celebrate."

The three boys looked at him. "You know, that's one of the best ideas you've had so far."

"I know," he said. "So, what are we going to do to?"

"Uh... We could throw a party?" Peter suggested.

"Oh, yeah, great idea!" Sirius raised an eyebrow sarcastically. "Only, wait: there's only five people we would want to invite in the castle right now, so it's not going to be a big party, is it?"

Peter had forgotten there weren't many students there. "What do you suggest then?"

"What does who suggest?" Lily asked him, sitting down next to James. Her hair was wet from the shower she had just had, and hung down in messy curls. They weren't meant to look cute, but in James' eyes they did.

"Sirius was just saying we should do something to celebrate the end of the year," he explained.

"Something?"

"Yeah, but we haven't decided what yet," said Sirius. "Do you have any ideas?"

She leaned her head to one side, thinking, until an idea came to her and she smiled. "Well, I know it's kind of cheesy, and you'll probably think it's a daft idea, but I had this idea while ago..."

"Go on," James, and all the others, were expectant.

"Well, we write down whatever we want on a piece of paper. But like, things we liked about this year, things we didn't, and stuff we want for next year. And then we burn it."

"Burn it?" Sirius' eyes widened. "I like the sound of that."

"Yeah," Lily smiled. "It's meant to be like a kind of letter to ourselves, you know. To make us think about stuff."

"That's the cissiest nonsense I've heard in a long time," said Sirius. "But I like it."

"Sounds interesting to me," Peter said.

"Yeah, count me in," Remus nodded.

"That's decided, then. When shall we do it?" James asked them all.

"How about we write them, and then meet up at midnight to burn them?" said Sirius, who took delight in all types of grand occasions.

"Okay then. I'm going to go and write mine now," Lily smiled at them all and left.

"Oh, man, she's so beautiful," James sighed as they watched her going through the door of the Great Hall.

"Prongs, why don't you just ask her out?" Sirius wondered. It was a question they had all been asking themselves.

"She would say no," he answered confidently.

"Why are you so sure?" said Peter.

"Look, I've only been friends with her for about four months. Before that, she used to hate me. I don't want to ruin that, alright?"

"Well, I think she'd say yes."

"She wouldn't," James sighed again, and this time it was not such a happy one.

"But she fancies you!"

"Why do you think that?"

"It's the way she looks at you, mate," Sirius agreed with Peter.

"Well I think you're wrong," James insisted. "You know... Lily's the kind of girl who you can actually just be friends with, without having to have a relationship. And I... I really like her."

"You don't say," Sirius drawled.

"But I don't want to ruin what we've got right now. Being friends with her has been a really big step, and I finally feel like this is going somewhere. I don't want to rush it."

"I guess it's your decision," Sirius said after a while. "But you know what I think?"

"No, but I've a feeling you're about to tell me..."

"I think people should be more spontaneous." When he spoke, there was a conviction in his words that made James listen more closely. "If you like someone, tell them; if you want to kiss them, then do! I mean, what's the worst that can happen? They'll give you a slap in the face and tell you to get lost. But at least you've made sure they know how you feel, right?"

"I guess..." James liked the idea of what Sirius was saying, and in theory it was probably good, and would work. But in reality? He wasn't so sure. "That's what I was saying, though. It's been great getting to know her properly, getting to be her friend for once. I don't want to ruin that."

"Ah, I see... You're too worried about getting slapped in the face."

"Well, you could put it that way... But it's more along the lines of me not wanting to lose her."

To that, there was nothing Sirius could think of to answer.

* * *

Upstairs, Lily sat at a table in the empty Common Room. The fire crackled, an occasional log breaking the silence as it crumbled. In front of her, the blank piece of parchment seemed to be waiting for her to write. The problem was, she couldn't quite think of what to say.

She had thought it a brilliant idea at first, something interesting that would make her think. But now she found it difficult, impossible, to write anything at all. Her mind had simply gone blank.

Was there nothing she wanted to say? Nothing she wanted to think about?

Suddenly, she lifted her hand, dipped the quill she was holding into some ink, and started to write.

_Okay, so here goes:_

_This year has been, if anything, different. I think I'll start by writing down all the things that have been different this year._

_I think the most important change has been James. Whether he's changed, or I've changed, or we both have, my... I guess you could call it relationship, with him has been decidedly different. I mean, only last year, I thought he was the most annoying git on the face of the planet, but now_

She paused, thinking. What did she really think of James now?

_I don't know, to be honest. He's just so amazing. He's become a big part in my life in the past few months. A friend, I suppose. I think he wants to be more of a friend, though, so what should I do about that? Mmm... Don't know. I'll have to have a think about that one._

She stopped, then carried on writing. When was a better time to think about it than now?

_There's something about James that draws me in. Do you know what I mean? No, of course you don't, you don't even exist._

_Maybe it's the way he talks to me, properly, like he's really listening, or the way he teases people without making them feel bad. Or the way he strides around like he's top of the world all the time. How he notices everything about me, which I think should probably freak me out, but somehow doesn't. The way he looks at me, which makes me feel all fluttery._

_Oh, Merlin, I feel like a typical teenager, droning on about some guy. But James isn't just some guy. I don't think anyone is, not really. Everyone's different, and although it sounds soooo cheesy, everyone's unique in their own way._

_Anyway, I didn't want to just talk about James. There are other things just as important, like what's going on with all these attacks. I know a lot of people think they're over, and maybe they are, but I can't forget what happened. I think I want to get to the bottom of it. Find out who was Imperiusing everyone, and do something about it. No one should be allowed to get away with that, but also I want to find out why they would do it. Why do you just attack a load of people? It makes no sense. Unless, of course, you take into account that everyone who got attacked was half or completely Muggle born. Then it makes complete sense._

_Oh, something else: Sev. Well, I haven't spoken to him since he kissed me, and he hasn't either, so what should I do? Just forget about it? Can I even do that? Everything used to be so simple between us, but lately he just makes things more complicated..._

_There's one more thing I want to write down, and it's not to do with last year, but with the next one that's coming up. I want it to be good,__ I truly do._

She put down her quill, and decided against reading through what she had just written. She would probably just want to un-write a load of sentences, crossing them out, and it would just end up looking messy. So instead, she rolled up the parchment and put it in her jeans pocket next to her wand. It was only when she stood up and turned round that she realized there was someone sitting on a sofa behind her.

"It's interesting, watching you write," James said, grinning.

"I believe I've told you this before, but you're getting borderline stalker-y," she answered, trying to sound calm.

"That's not a word."

"It is now."

"Well," he said with a smile. "I was going to come and ask you if you wanted to come for a walk with us, but I guess you won't want to come with a stalker like me."

"Oh, no problem, I'll come. Just give me a second to get my coat." The rain had been replaced by a cold, sharp frost a few days previously, and had stayed around.

When she came back downstairs, she was wearing the coat that James had tried on only a few days before.

"It looks better on me," he smirked.

"Does not! It didn't even fit you, your arms were too long."

"No, it was the sleeves that were too short."

"Now way. Your arms are just incredibly long." Which was true, in a way. James was thin, lanky, with long arms and legs. It did not look disproportionate, it was simply the way he was.

"They're not... But anyway, I was kidding. It suits you a lot better," he added.

It took Lily a moment to realize it was a compliment, but by the time she had, they could already see Sirius, Remus and Peter waiting for them in the Entrance Hall.

"You took your time, Prongs..." Sirius said. Lily had noticed, a while back, that the Marauders had taken to calling each other by their nicknames in front of her. It seemed to be a sign that they were comfortable around her, which was a good feeling.

"Where are we going, then?" Lily asked them as they all stepped into the cold outside air.

"Well, the Forbidden Forest is nice this time of the year," said James.

"You're kidding, right?" She found that he wasn't, and that none of the others seemed shocked by the proposition. "Have you been in there before?"

"A million times," Remus sighed.

"But isn't it meant to be, well... forbidden?"

"Yeah, so?" Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"Well, it's probably for a reason. It sounds like there's some pretty scary creatures in there."

"Are you going to chicken out on us, Lily-flower?"

She doubted for a moment, then grinned. "If we die, it's going to be completely your fault. Just so you know."

"You can be so dramatic at times, Lily..." James said.

She didn't retort, because James had said that almost without joking. He had said it with a tone of voice in which "dramatic" sounded like a compliment, and Lily was still trying to figure out why.

They reached the end of the grounds. The Forbidden Forest was unusual in many ways, but one of them was that it did not start like normal forests did. Most of them began with small trees round the border, getting gradually bigger as you went in. But this one in particular did not: when you reached the border, the trunks of the trees where already thicker than an average person.

What little light there was in that grey morning, was reduced even more as they entered the Forest. It wasn't dark, exactly, just a lot duller than outside.

Lily jumped when she heard a crunching sound from behind her, but breathed out when she saw it was only James stepping on some fallen leaves.

"Bit creepy, isn't it?" Lily whispered to him.

"I guess... I don't know, we've been here so often, you kind of get used to it after a while."

As they walked into the Forest, Lily found that what James said was true. She was getting used to the dark and mysteriousness of it, and was beginning to enjoy it more. It was beautiful, once you got over the initial fear of the place.

They wandered for a while, getting deeper into the woods than Lily had imagined possible.

"When does the Forest end?" she asked them. "It just doesn't seem to stop..."

"No idea. We've never got to the end of it, you see," James explained.

"Maybe it doesn't stop," Sirius grinned. "Maybe it goes on forever and ever..."

When they had walked far enough, and were already quite tired, they sat down for a while, perched on turfs of moss and small rocks.

"So when was the first time you came here?" Lily wanted to know.

"Mm... Must have been in second year," said Peter. "We were only little kids back then, and we didn't know half of the things about this place that we do now."

"Like what?"

"The kind of creatures that live here. Acromantula, Thestrals, Hippogriffs, Centaurs..."

"Centaurs? Really?"

"Yep," Sirius grinned. "We've never found any, though. So no worries."

She widened her eyes incredulously, but said nothing. The Marauders were a lost cause: they had absolutely no regard for danger, or at least that was what it seemed like to her.

A minute or two later, Sirius was the first to stand up. They went back the way they had came: it was not a path, as such, more of a few traces that people had walked there before (a parting in the brambles, a patch of trodden earth).

By the time they got back, lunch was on the tables in Great Hall, and they were starving. Sitting down in front of a plate of pasta, Lily thought of where she had just been. The Forest was beautiful, why hadn't she been there before? Well, she knew the answer to that: because she had never dared.

For 5 years she had managed to stay out of trouble, basically because she had never gone looking for it. She was a good Prefect, and she knew it. It was more than probable that she would get chosen as the Head Girl next year (once Alice left).

But the Marauders didn't seem to care about getting into trouble at all, and when she was with them, she didn't either. It was a new feeling, this one of excitement and freedom, and she found it inexplicably tied to what she felt for James.

"You're a bit quiet today, is everything okay?" he asked her. She looked up, thinking of something to say, but just nodded. He was always so... empathic? Was that the right word? As in, he was always the first to pick up on her mood, and never refrained from asking her about it. She liked that, but it made her nervous sometimes. It made her feel vulnerable, like he was seeing right inside her, and she wasn't sure if it was a good thing.

"Are you two love-birds even listening to me?" Sirius asked them, waving a hand in front of their faces.

"What?" James laughed, swatting at him. "What do you want?"

"I was just saying, I'm going upstairs to write that letter Lily-flower said we should write. You coming?"

"I've already written mine," Lily smiled. "But you guys go ahead. I've got to finish a Charms essay anyway."

"Endless studying..." Sirius sighed, extra dramatically. "You're getting too much like Moony."

Remus stuck his tongue out, but stood up with the other three.

"See you later, Lily," James said, and they left.

* * *

When they finally reached their dormitory, they each sat down in different corners of the room.

James lay on his bed, his feet on the pillow, leaning on a textbook. He took less than a minute to think of what he wanted to write about:

_Okay, so Lily said we should write a letter (or was it a list?) of things. I don't really get exactly what she meant, but anyway. There was a load of stuff that I've liked about last year, so I'll write about that, shall I? For one, I think I'm doing alright as a Captain. So it might sound stupid to some people, but I was really worried about it. About not being good enough, I guess. Lets face it, there haven't been many times when I've felt I haven't been good enough for someone or something. Except with Lily. I've never felt good enough for her, and maybe she sees it like that too? Oh, Merlin, I sound like a whiny brat... But in all honesty, as a confession to a letter that nobody will ever see, I love her. Yeah, alright, I know what you're thinking, how can you know about love, you're only 16 and all that. But I know how I feel, and there is no way I could love anybody more than I love her right now. It just wouldn't be possible. And sometimes I catch her looking at me, and I can see in her eyes that she likes me too, but she just doesn't know it yet. Did I just write that? Agrippa's sake, that is the worst thing I could possibly say, as if she doesn't know her own mind, or hasn't got her own opinions (which she has, and a lot of them too). But anyway, that's how it feels sometimes: like I can see her heart through her eyes, instead of her mind. That is so bloody soppy... I'm getting soft. But whatever, I think this letter is getting a bit too long, so I'll just leave it at that, shall I? No, wait, there's something else I wanted to say: these three idiots, _he paused and looked around at his roommates,_ have been great. So yeah, that's kind of brilliant, in a way._

He finally put down his quill, and re-read the letter. There weren't any spelling mistakes that he could see, and it didn't sound too bad. But what the hell? He wasn't going to read it to anyone anyway, so it didn't matter.

While he had been writing, Sirius had already finished his letter, which was now folded untidily in his pocket. "How's yours, Prongs?"

"Ah, it was okay," he answered, standing up and stretching. That position had not been comfortable.

"Can I read it?"

"No!"

"Why not?"

"Well, can I read yours?"

"No way!"

"Exactly," James nodded.

Sirius could feel the scrunched up piece of paper in his jeans' pocket, and realized James was right: it should stay there until it was burnt. There were things in there best kept a secret.

_What am I even meant to write for this? What did Lily-flower say, something about things from last year and things about the next year... Yeah, something like that. _  
_Well, good stuff about last year... Meeting new people. And by people, you know exactly who I mean. That's probably been the best thing about this past year, because it was exciting and different and weird, and it was all new to me. I've learned quite a lot._  
_What else? Oh, yeah, a bad thing about this past year: being at home has been awful. To be honest, it always has been, but it's getting worse. Walburga and Orion (yeah, I call them that. It just doesn't feel right calling them Mum and Dad anymore) keep talking about Death Eaters and Mudbloods and Werewolves, and I just want to scream at them that they're wrong, that however many times they say they're better than anyone else, it__** DOESN'T MAKE IT TRUE**__. They're so self-righteous, so smug and so bitter, and I hate them so much. I need to get out of that house as soon as possible._  
_And Regulus is just as bad, hanging out with a bunch of idiots. They're the worst people you can get together with at Hogwarts, and what does he do? Get together with them. He's such a mummy's boy, he makes me sick. As soon as he got sorted into Slytherin he put up his scarf and his banners all over the walls, and Walburga was fussing around him, saying how classy they looked, how they were so proud of him, for "up-holding the Black honour". Ugh. They make me sick._  
_But whatever, who cares about them? There's people who care about me outside of that house, like Prongs, Moony, Wormtail, and... well, I won't go into that, shall I?_  
_Overall, even though my family is composed mainly of __**IDIOTS**__, it's been a cool year._

He looked around him. Peter and Remus were still writing. "Oy, when are you lot going to finish?"

Remus waved at him vaguely, for he was in the middle of a sentence. He had no difficulty with writing, and his letter read like this:

**GOOD THINGS ABOUT LAST YEAR.**

1. I'm doing well in classes, and I passed all of my OWLs with a good mark.  
2. Having these three in Animagus form really helps. It used to be awful, I remember. Every month seemed worse than the next. But now I've got them... Let's just say it's not brilliant, but it's better.  
3. Being a Prefect is alright. Not as cool as I thought it would be, but still. As Lily says, it's nice to have such a ridiculous bathroom.  
4. Prongs and Padfoot have calmed down a bit. They used to prank daily, and now it's only occasionally. That's a good thing, because we're rarely in trouble anymore. Have they matured? I didn't think that would be possible, but maybe they have.

**BAD THINGS ABOUT LAST YEAR.**  
1. I'm still a werewolf. It pains me to write that, but it's true. You know, sometimes I find myself thinking how different stuff would have been if I hadn't got bitten.  
2. I... oh, Merlin, I can't write this. Only Lily said it was to make us think. So I'll write it. Okay, here goes. I had a crush on Robyn. Yeah, I know, I know... Robyn doesn't fancy anyone, and she would never fancy me back. But anyway, it was ages ago, at the end of last year. Which leads me onto the next point:  
3. I can't date anyone. I can't even kiss anyone, in case I fancy them and start wanting to go out with them. And I can't do that. I just can't. Because I'd have to tell them what I am, and I don't think I can handle that kind of rejection. Also, I'd be putting them in danger.

**THINGS I WANT FOR NEXT YEAR.**  
1. To stop being a werewolf. But haha that's not going to happen.  
2. To stay friends with the Marauders. That is going to happen.  
3. To pass every subject. I hope that will happen.

SIGNED,

_Remus J. Lupin._

"You've finished," Sirius cried as Remus put down his pen. "Great, that only leaves Peter."

Peter, who was stretched out on his bed in a similar position to what James had been, heaved a sigh. His piece of parchment lay intact before him. He didn't really know what to write, for he was not deep like Remus, and he was not as honest and straight-forward as James and Sirius. He didn't really have much to write about, because not much had happened these past few years. It was pathetic.

He considered writing about Marylin Bones, who he had starting seeing a lot more of recently. But what was there to say? She was pretty, she was cute, and she was nice to be around. That was more or less it.

So he said, "Finished," picked up his piece of parchment, folded it up, and put it in his pocket.

"Great! Anyone fancy a game of Quidditch?" Sirius was already halfway out of the door before they had time to answer. They ran after him.

* * *

A few hours after supper, they met up with Lily again, and each of them pulled out their letters.

"Well, it was interesting writing these, although I'm not sure what you wanted to achieve with them," said James.

Lily smiled at him. "Yeah, it was interesting writing this one too. So, we're burning them at midnight, yeah?" The four boys agreed. "Where?"

"I don't know... I doubt McGonagall will be too pleased if we burn something in one of her classrooms..."

"Yeah, remember that time when Charlotte Finnigan set fire to her desk in the middle of the class?"

All of them had been there, and they laughed. It had been funny to watch.

"So not in an empty classroom," said Remus. "We don't want any accidents like that."

"Where, then?"

"How about on the roof, where we played "I've never"?" Lily suggested. "It was nice up there, and it's not even raining now."

"Fine by me," Sirius nodded, and so did the rest.

* * *

And so it came to be that at midnight, five students gathered on the rooftop. It was dark, and the only light they had came from the tips of their wands. They sat down, and Remus placed a watch in front of them all.

There were three minutes until the New Year, and they were all watching the clock excitedly.

It was cold up there, although there was no wind and no rain. The clouds were heavy above them.

Lily twisted her letter round and round in her hands. She wanted to burn it right now, to forget about the bad things about the year before, and to welcome in everything that would be new the next year.

Suddenly, surprising all of them, a clock struck twelve in the distance. It took them a moment to react, but then they all picked up their letters.

Lily pointed her wand at hers, moved it from side to side quickly. The parchment in her hand caught on fire, and around her she could see that the others were too. She watched as the paper burned, the paper turning from white to yellow to brown to a deep black, curling in on itself. Her fingers let go of it quickly, scared of being burnt, and it floated up into the air, still on fire.

She looked up, seeing it float off into the night sky. Something fell on her cheek, and for a moment she thought it was ash from the letter. She picked it off with her fingers. It was snowflake.

It was snowing.


	30. A Tale of Everyone in the Library

**Okay, so I'm sorry for taken a while to update, but I've been away for a few days, and then I've started back at Art School... So yeah, a lot on my plate lately. In any case, I hope you enjoy the chapter, and please review!**

* * *

A few days later, the train from King's Cross arrived back in Hogsmeade, carrying most of the students at Hogwarts.

Lily was there to welcome her friends with a warm hug, and then they all went up to the dormitories.

"So, how was your holiday?" she asked them all.

"Oh, fun as usual," Avril answered, bouncing onto her bed. "The house was crammed full, because everyone was there, you know. Hey, did I tell you I'm going to be an aunt?"

"What? Congratulations!" Lily squealed, bouncing onto her friend's bed too.

"Yeah, Sadie's going to have twins," Avril beamed. It was obvious on her face that she was pleased.

"Wow, being an aunt must be so cool," said Dorcas.

"I'm going to be the best aunt ever. They're calling them Angie and Jenna if they're girls, and Jason and Karl if they're boys."

"What if it's a girl and a boy?" Robyn asked her.

"Angie and Jason. I helped chose."

"Oh, you're so lucky!" Lily smiled at her friend. "I love little kids, they're really sweet."

"Me too," nodded Avril. "I'm going to have loads of kids when I'm older. At least three."

Lily leaned her head to one side, thinking. She had not thought much about it before, but she realized that she would actually like to have a lot of kids. "Yeah, so am I."

"And me," Dorcas agreed.

"You're all crazy. Why do you want to have kids? They squeal, and cry, and whine at you constantly," said Robyn.

"So? It would be worth it."

"Well, I'm not going to have kids." Robyn seemed adamant on the matter. "It's not worth the hassle."

"You're just saying that cause there's no one you want to have kids _with_," Avril said. "I bet you, if you ever meet someone you fancy, you'll want to."

"No way."

"Yes way. Want to bet?" Avril grinned.

"No, I've got enough on my plate as it is..." sighed Robyn. "Did you see Angeline and Professor Bekane downstairs?"

"No, why?"

"Oh, she was flirting shamelessly. Curling her hair round her finger, pouting... Ugh, that girl makes me sick."

"You're a bit harsh with her, you know," said Lily.

"She deserves it! The way she was looking at him, I thought she was going to throw herself at him right there."

"Nah, she wouldn't," Avril disagreed.

"She would, actually. You didn't hear her downstairs... "Oooh, sir, I missed you so much"", Dorcas imitated Angeline's voice. "And he was hanging onto her every word, you know."

"Will you quit slut-shaming her?" Lily asked them.

"Okay, okay, I'm just saying-"

"Alright, but just lay off her a bit, yeah?"

"Whatever," said Robyn. Her tone was calm, but it was apparent to all of them that that would not be the end of it.

* * *

Weeks passed, and the Christmas spirit wore off as classes started. They were interesting as usual, and Lily enjoyed them all, but she could not help missing those weeks when it had just been her and the Marauders. It had only been for a few days, but she had grown closer to them. Consequently, she now found herself spending more and more time with the four boys.

She would also take her friends along, and they seemed to enjoy spending time with the Marauders too. They would have lunch together, all eight of them, or go out to the Lake in the afternoons.

However, they didn't have that much time to spare, as they soon found out. The amount of homework they had to do was incredible, and so they they ended up in the Library most of the time. Transfiguration practicing, Potions essays, researching some plants for Herbology... And most importantly, their project for Defense Against the Dark Arts.

It was coming along well, as Lily had put it a few days previously. Both she and James had inverted time and thought into it, and it had advanced accordingly. They had come up with excellent ideas for it, but none as good as the one James was just about to put forward.

"I-have-had-the-best-idea-ever-you-are-going-to-lo ve-it," he said.

Lily couldn't help it: she smiled. On the whole, James acted like he knew what he was doing, like he never lost his balance, like he was confident 24/7. But at times like this, when he got cute and excited, Lily couldn't stop herself from grinning. "Oh, yeah?"

"Yep, want to hear it?" He paused for barely a second, but didn't wait for an answer. "Okay, so I thought, you know, since this project is-"

"Hey, you two!" A voice called from behind them. It was Dorcas, who sat down beside them. "How's you're project going? I'm meant to be meeting Remus here in," she looked at her watch, "one minute."

"Well, Remus isn't usually late, so I guess he'll be here soon. And our project is going great, as I was about to tell Lil-" said James.

"Hi," Remus greeted them all, sitting down next to them. "Shall we get another table, this one is too small for the four of us."

Dorcas was about to disagree, when she caught Remus' meaningful glance. "Oh, right... Yeah, it's two small for us, we'll leave you to it..." She giggled as she followed Remus over to another table, leaving Lily and James alone.

"Ugh, I hate it when they do that," Lily sighed.

"Do what?" said James.

"When they, like, leave us alone together."

"I'm offended," he said, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, no, I don't mean like that. I, um, I like spending time with you, and I don't mind if we're alone," she blushed. "No, it's when they leave us together on purpose, if you see what I mean."

"Ah, right... Yeah, I get what you mean." And although he did, he saw no problem in them being left alone.

He opened his mouth, remembering his brilliant idea, when someone suddenly tapped him on his left shoulder. He looked around, saw no one, but then heard laughter coming from behind him, to the right. He turned in that direction, and saw Sirius.

"It works every time..." his friend laughed.

"Oh, ha. Ha. Ha," James muttered sarcastically. "How come you're here, anyway? You're never in the Library..."

Sirius' expression clouded over in seconds. "For your information, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for this stupid project we've got to do."

"Who's your partner?" Lily asked him, looking around. She saw no one, until the door opened, and she remembered who it was.

"Shit, he's here," said Sirius, looking at Severus as he came across the room towards them.

Lily had not spoken to him since that night ("_oh, Merlin, that night..."_), and she was not sure how to act around him, so when he nodded at them all, she simply nodded back. Maybe it would be easier to pretend nothing had happened.

"Shall we start this project, then?" he asked Sirius curtly. Sirius nodded, and they both walked over to another table.

"They don't look too happy," said James.

"Mmm... Not much they can do about it, though," Robyn said as she walked towards them. "I feel a bit sorry for Sirius. Severus isn't very nice." Robyn was not one to hide her feelings about people, and she would often express her thoughts bluntly.

"I guess not," said James. "So, what are you here for, Robs?"

"The project, too," she nodded vaguely. "We haven't started it yet, but I think we ought to, you know. Here's Benjy now."

Benjy Fenwick was indeed walking towards them. Lily couldn't help notice how hot (there was no other word for it) he looked: as it was a weekend, he was wearing jeans and a white shirt, rolled up to his elbows. His arms were muscled from playing Quidditch, another fact that she noted.

"Hi, Robyn. James, Lily," he greeted them with his usual casual grin.

Robyn waved at them, and she and Benjy walked over to a table at the other end of the room.

"Mmm... Is there something you want to tell me?" James smirked.

"What?" Lily was confused.

"About a certain crush on a certain Benjy Fenwick?"

"Agrippa, are you kidding me?" Lily laughed loudly, earning herself a stare from the librarian. "Of course I don't fancy him!"

"Well, you were certainly looking at him like you did," James carried on smirking.

"He's hot, certainly. But it takes a lot more than looks for me to fancy someone."

"Oh, so you're more of a "what matters is on the inside" kind of girl?"

"James, if you fall in love with someone, it's not because of their looks, alright? You might get a crush, or you might find them attractive, but when you really fall in love, it's with the actual person, not their looks. It's the small things that count, you know. The things that make up the person. For example, if someone were to fall in love with you, they'd notice things like the way you laugh, or how young you seem when you get really excited about something, or the slant to the right in your handwriting, or the way you ruffle your hair when you get nervous, or how full of life you look in the mornings, when everyone seems half asleep, or, uhm. I should stop speaking, shouldn't I?"

James looked at her for a long moment. She looked back at him, because she couldn't quite look away. It was something in his eyes that compelled her to keep staring at them. Maybe it was because she saw realization in them: recognition of the fact that Lily had noticed all these things, despite that to others they may have seemed unimportant.

And suddenly, James smiled. "So, do you want to hear my brilliant idea, then?"

Lily blinked, but nodded.

"Okay," he started. "So, I was thinking about the project the other day, and I mean, we've got loads of information now, haven't we? We've researched Boggarts really well, and we know loads about them."

"Yeah..."

"So, I thought: how about the real thing?"

"I don't really get what you mean."

"How about we get a real Boggart, and we bring it into class on the day of the presentation?"

Lily blinked again, and thought about it. "But... you do realize a Boggart is actually a potentially dangerous creature?"

"Yes, but-"

"And that the rest of the class will have no idea haw to handle one? That we'll have to teach them?"

"I know-"

"And that Alexander probably won't let us anyway?"

"Well, I-"

"And that it's practically impossible to find Boggarts anyway, let alone bring it to a class full of students?"

"But-"

"Apart from that, I think it's a brilliant idea."

Now it was James who blinked in surprise. "What, you think we could do it?"

"There's no way we're going to be able to. But I think maybe... we should at least try."

He grinned. "Brilliant, I'll-"

"Hey, Prongs!" Peter had arrived. "Hi, Lily. How's this project of yours going, anyway?"

"It's going well. If we can pull it off, there's this surprise James has planned that might-"

"Hey, don't tell him," James laughed, trying to cover her mouth so she wouldn't say anything. She giggled and tried to push him off.

"It's a surprise, though," she agreed. "So, how come you're here? Potions' essay?"

His eyes widened. "Oh, shit, I'd forgotten about that one! I'd better do it... Actually, I was here for the Defence project. We started it a week ago, but we haven't done much since."

"How come everyone is doing it today?" James laughed.

"No idea, we must have just coincided..." said Peter. "Anyway, I'd better go... See you later." He walked off towards another table, where Evan Rosier was waiting for him.

"I felt sorry for Padfoot, but Wormtail hasn't got it easy either..." James worried.

"Count yourself lucky you got me," said Lily.

"Oh, I do," he smirked.

"So... how are we going to find a Boggart to bring into class, without getting expelled?"

* * *

At another table, both Remus and Dorcas were concentrating hard on the books they had in front of them. They were writing down everything they knew about werewolves, and contrasting it with information the had found in the Library.

Remus squirmed in his chair. _Lycanthropy is a magical illness known to be spread by contact between saliva and blood; thus, when a transformed werewolf bites a human,the bitten will become a werewolf themselves,_ well, he knew that alright. It was almost painful to remember.

He did not have many memories of when he was four years old, but in the darkest corner of his mind, he could see it all flashing by: his warm, soft bed, his parents kissing him goodnight, almost falling asleep, and then the creature that had burst into his room, strong and powerful and too fast to even be terrifying, and the bite, the excruciating pain, the blood everywhere... He had passed out, and woken up in St Mungo's the day after.

"Are you alright, Remus?" Dorcas asked him, concerned.

"Uh, yeah, I'm... I'm okay, thanks." At first, it had been an impossible secret to cover up, burning through his mind constantly. There had not been a moment in the day when his affliction did not weigh on him. But then he met James, and Sirius, and Peter, and they were exactly what he needed. They could make him forget, at least until the next full moon came around, what he really was.

He had felt guilty as hell keeping it from them, though. Telling them he was visiting his sick mother. He was surprised that they had believed him... Only, of course, they hadn't, not really. They had got to the truth in the end.

But by some miracle, they had not taken it badly. They had not judged him, had not said they could not be friends anymore. His secret was in the open, _they knew_, but they did not mind. It was what Remus had always wanted.

His illness was not such a heavy burden when carried by four.

* * *

"Why do you even hang out with them?" Evan Rosier asked Peter, underlining a paragraph in the Library book.

"Uh... I don't know," Peter said. Rosier's questions made him uncomfortable. Why did he hang out with the other three Marauders? "They're my friends, that's why."

Rosier snorted, and carried on underlining. "You could do better than them, you know. And better than that Hufflepuff chick, too."

Peter went red. "I think Marylin's really nice, actually. In any case, it's none of your business."

"Whatever."

But the more Peter thought about it, the more he doubted. Why did he hang out with them? They were funny, yes, and they were a nice group to be around. But why them, specifically?

He could still remember, with a trace of embarrassment, how alone he had been for the first few months at Hogwarts. He had had no friends, he got picked on by the Slytherins (he supposed they saw him as an easy target), and he was failing most of his classes. Then, somehow, Remus had taken pity on him, and managed to convince Sirius and James to befriend him.

He had been so pleased to finally have what he called friends, that he didn't even mind the taunts from those two. They teased him a lot, but it was not in the way the Slytherins did it. It was more friendly. Also, they helped him in the subjects he found the hardest, and thanks to them he managed to scrape through the year.

But was it just pity that they felt? Was it only due to Remus that he was still allowed to be part of that group? In complete honesty, he was not sure. Maybe it was just that: pity.

He looked over at his so-called friends, each at their own table, and couldn't help but scowl. Next to him, Evan Rosier smirked.

* * *

"So, Acromantula..." Benjy pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill. "Any ideas on the topic?"

"Um, not many. It's not really my field," Robyn said.

"Oh? So what's your field, then?"

"Crumple-Horned Snorkacks," she replied, quite sure of herself. "And I guess I know quite a bit about Nargles too, now."

Benjy didn't answer, just raised an eyebrow. Robyn was one strange girl...

"Do _you_ know anything about Acromantula?" she asked pleasantly.

"Not much, either," he acknowledged.

"How about we read up on them, and write down everything we find interesting?" she said, opening a book she had in front of her.

Benjy grinned, and closed the book she had just opened. "Actually, I wanted to ask you something."

She looked at him, not sure what it could be. "O...kay?"

"I was thinking, maybe we could meet up sometime. I don't know, go for a walk in the grounds, or whatever." He grinned as he suggested it, confident as usual.

"It's pouring down outside," she said, still confused.

"Yeah, that's not really the point, though. I meant, like, we could meet up. Just you and me."

She looked at him in confusion for a second, and then it clicked. Her eyebrows rose up. "Oh, you're asking me out on a date?"

"Date sounds kind of old-fashioned, but yes."

"Oh... No, sorry."

"What? Why not?" He looked shocked, almost offended.

"I don't like you," she said bluntly. "I mean, I like you, but not like-_like_. Do you get me?"

He stared at her blankly. It was a new feeling, that of being turned down by a girl, and it was not a pleasant one either. He scowled. "Well, your loss, then. I'll ask Angeline, see what she says."

He realized that was the wrong thing to say just a moment too late, when Robyn glared at him. "Well, see if I care, then!" She stood up, picked up her schoolbag, and stormed out of the Library.

* * *

"This is so freaking boring..." Sirius groaned, as he passed a page of the enormous book he had in front of him. The only interesting thing had happened when Robyn had stormed out of the Library. Whatever had angered her, it must have been something bad. She didn't usually lose her calm over something unimportant. You had to admit it: although that girl was pretty crazy, she was also pretty brilliant.

"Stop complaining," Severus muttered. "The less time we take over it, the sooner we can get rid of each other."

"Don't tell me what to do. Slime-ball."

Severus shot him a look, but did not reply. He felt he was above such stupid remarks.

"What, think you're above me, Slime-ball?" Sirius taunted. "You think you're so cool..."

"Shut up, and look for the dates of the first sightings of hags in Europe," Severus snapped back at him.

"I said, don't tell me what to do."

"I'll tell you to do whatever is best for the project, and that's that."

"Who died and made you boss, then?" Sirius retorted. "Git."

"Shush, I'm trying to concentrate."

"Oh, shush yourself. Slime-ball."

The bickering between the two of them was endless. It had been a bad idea to chose pairs randomly, Sirius thought. And he knew he was being childish and stupid, but he could not help insulting him. Severus annoyed him so much.

A few minutes passed in silence, and then Severus spoke again. "So, have you got the dates yet?"

"Yep, here they are." Sirius plonked the paper down in front of his partner, not very delicately, knocking his quill.

"Careful, will you?" Severus snapped.

"Oh, quit moaning."

"Well, just be a bit less clumsy next time." He scanned through the dates. "Is this it?"

"Yeah, that's it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going down to supper. I'm starving," he said, standing up and starting to put his stuff back into his bag.

"What? We've only been here about half an hour."

"So? As far as I'm concerned, that's enough," Sirius shrugged.

"Look, we need to finish this project," Snape said, impatient. "So we either carry on now, or we have to meet up again."

Sirius glared at him, then sighed. He sat down again. "I hate searching for information..."

"Well do something else then. Write stuff down, draw a diagram. Do something useful, for a change."

Sirius stuck his tongue out childishly, but pulled over the notes they had gathered. He shifted through them, then started a diagram. "I hate drawing diagrams..."

"Oh, shut up," Severus snapped. "Seriously, stop going on about it. Do you think my favourite thing to be doing right now is sit here and research hags? With you?"

Sirius stared at him. It wasn't common for Severus to raise his voice above a low, monotonous level. "Keep your greasy hair on, Snivellus."

Severus took a deep breath. "Look. You don't like me, and I certainly don't like you. So let's just... Let's just get on with this, alright?"

Sirius scowled, but nodded curtly. They were silent for a while, one researching, the other drawing a diagram of the information they already had.

"We could have got any creature," Sirius grumbled. "And instead we get boring old hags. Ugh."

"Oh, and what creature would you have preferred?" his partner asked him in a bored tone.

"Any. I don't know, werewolves, for example."

Severus perked up at the word. He had been suspecting it for years now: Remus Lupin was a werewolf. All these visits to his mother, always coinciding with the full moon... And the other three's interest in werewolves... They were probably in on the secret too. "Why werewolves, particularly?"

"No reason." Sirius seemed oblivious to the curiosity in Severus' voice. "They're just really interesting. Also, I know quite a bit about them."

"How come?"

"Well, duh, we had a test on them last year. In our OWLs?" he said.

"Oh, right..." Severus tried not to show his disappointment. "No other interest?"

"Why are you asking me this?" Sirius shot him a suspicious glance.

"No reason..." he amended quickly. "Just curious as to why you would want to do werewolves, when there are millions of other creatures, far more interesting than them."

"More interesting than werewolves? I don't think so," Sirius scoffed.

"Vampires, Goblins..."

"There's no comparison, werewolves are way more interesting."

"Acromantula, Dragons... Did you know, there are twelve species of known dragons, but more than a thousand inter-species breeds?" Severus countered back quickly.

"Yeah? Well, did you know that when werewolves transform, they go through immense pain, especially around their abdomen, because they grow when they transform?"

"Well, dragons are barely affected by normal curses, unless they're particularly strong, or are directed at their eyes."

"So? Werewolves are rarely ever hit by curses, because they're so fast and strong. The only way you could overpower a werewolf is by pure animal strength. And that would only happen if you were an Animagus."

Severus was about to reply, but stopped in his tracks. "What?"

Now, Sirius was not the kind of person to back down. In fact, he rarely did. He had a lot of pride, and a hot temper that would often stop him from thinking rationally. Maybe he should have left right then, or at the very least stop speaking, but he didn't. "Well, it's true. Don't tell me you've never thought of it," he taunted.

Severus's mind was racing. _Animagus..._ That might be it. "Oh, and did you think of it?"

"Yes," he said proudly. "Me and James."

"But why would you think of such an idea? Why would you ever have the need?"

Even Sirius was able to stop himself there. He realized he had gone too far. "None of your business, Snivellus. Stop poking your incredibly large nose into other people's lives."

Severus smirked back at him, but didn't say anything. He had heard exactly what he had been wanting to hear for ages.

To be honest, he had to give them their due: to become Animagus, just to be able to control their friend. Breaking about a million school rules to boot, but then again, when had Potter and Black ever minded breaking the rules?

He had what he needed, now all he had to do was wait. It wouldn't be for very long, either: the next full moon was that very weekend.


	31. A Tale of What Happened That Night

**Thanks for the reviews, you're all really great! :)**

* * *

"Padfoot, are you okay?" James asked his friend.

Sirius was sitting on the edge of his bed, resting his chin on his hands. He looked moody and miserable, and just shrugged.

"Hey, it's Moony that should be feeling down, not you," James attempted to joke. It was Saturday night, and they were all getting ready for a night out at the Shreaking Shack. James loved them, although he knew those kind of nights were hard for Remus.

Remus, on the other hand, looked surprisingly cheery, although he would sometimes stop to rub his forehead, as if afflicted by a heavy migraine. Apart from that, he had been quite alright the whole evening. "Yeah, don't steal my crown," he laughed.

Sirius sighed, and looked around at his three friends. His eyes lingered on Remus, who looked at him questioningly. He sighed again. "I've done something really stupid."

"What?" James frowned. It was not like Sirius to look back on something he had done and regret it. He didn't usually think twice about things.

"If it's about breaking a rule, I won't go on about it..." Remus conceded. "It's not like you haven't gotten into trouble before..."

"No, it's nothing like that," said Sirius.

"Then what is it? It's obviously troubling you," Peter looked concerned.

"I think Snape knows about you being a werewolf," Sirius said in a rush.

There was a moment of silence, as they all took in the information. Then James reacted. "Are you kidding me? You didn't tell him, did you?"

"Please tell me you didn't tell him..." Remus muttered.

"No, I... I don't know. I mean, he might not know. It's just... I think he does."

"How come? Look, tell us everything. Start from the beginning, yeah?" James sat down next to Sirius, and waited.

It took him a while, but finally he started to describe what had happened. How bored, how irritated he had felt, studying there with Snape. How he had started arguing with him, and how the other boy had asked him about werewolves. With an unnatural curiosity. And how Sirius had fallen for it, all because of his stupid pride...

"Oh, Merlin, Sirius..." James groaned. "So you just blurted it out? Just like that. You do realize we could get expelled for something like this, right?"

"I know, and I'm really sorry, but-"

"But what? Don't you remember what happened last time?" In fact, they all remembered perfectly what had happened last time. Sirius had got into an argument with Snape, and at the time he had been so angry, that he thought he'd try to get Snape into trouble. So he told him to go down the passageway to the Shrieking Shack when the full moon was out. Luckily, Sirius had told James out of pure guilt, starting to regret what he had done, and James had managed to stop him before he saw anything. But this time it might not be so easy...

"I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to tell him anything, it just... slipped out. Again," he finished lamely.

"Don't apologize to me, apologize to Remus," said James. "Where will he be if we get expelled? He'll have to go through all the shit he did before, and he'll be on his own."

Beside him, Remus had gone pale. He was silent for a moment, and then said, "So, you're not actually sure he knows, though?"

"No..." He had a strong suspicion he did, though. Give him his credit, Snape wasn't stupid. He might be a git, and completely evil, but not stupid.

"What should we do?" James asked Remus.

"I don't know... I mean, we can't tell Dumbledore or anyone, because we'd have to tell him that Sirius knows I'm a werewolf, and you guys aren't supposed to know. Let alone be Animagus to help me out. Maybe we should just leave things as they are, and hope he hasn't realized what Sirius was saying?"

"What, just act like nothing happened?"

"Yeah... He might not even turn up..."

"But what if he does? What if he sees you?"

"Well, that's not probable, is it," said Remus. "We don't always go to the same places, he won't know where to look."

"We can't be sure of that, Moony. We could be putting him in danger..."

"I know that, but there's nothing we can do," he sighed. His headache was getting worse, and his muscles were beginning to ache.

"Unless..." James began, unsure of whether the plan forming in his mind would even be possible. "How about... one of us, me for example, hangs around inside the Whomping Willow passage, and waits for him. Then, if he does come, I tell him to go back."

"What if I can't handle Moony on my own?" Sirius asked him.

"You'll have to," James said, a blunt edge in his voice. "There's no other choice."

"And what if I get too close to the school?" worried Remus. "It's happened before. You'd be in human form, and you wouldn't be able to defend yourself."

"Well... You'll just have to be careful, okay?" The warning was directed at Sirius, who would be the one stopping Remus from approaching the school.

After a moment of silence, the other three boys agreed to the plan.

* * *

It was dark, and the whole of the castle was filled with a vast, eerie silence. Severus tried hard not to get nervous about it, but occasionally he would hear a noise... Or was he just imagining it? It was probably just his mind, playing tricks on him. But then, so were his eyes, because was that a human shadow walking down the deserted corridor? No, a flicker of the torchlight...

He was not used to being out at this time. Not like those four trouble-makers... Gits. Always out at night, breaking the rules, thinking they were cool... He couldn't stand them.

It was colder than he had expected. He pulled his cloak tighter around himself. Although it was a weekend, he was wearing his school uniform. He didn't really like wearing his usual clothes, which consisted mostly of over-sized black smocks. Having been laughed at because of them since he was a kid, he was in no hurry to change into them.

Lily had never laughed at him because of his clothes, he thought fondly. She wasn't that kind of person. He realized now that he was only doing all this for her. To prove to her that he had been right about Remus Lupin being a werewolf, and being right about the other three covering up for him. He would be able to show her what they were really like, and then she would come back to him, and everything would be like it was before... Well, maybe.

If he was completely honest with himself, he wasn't sure it would happen like that. He was beginning to see that Lily had chosen her path, and that he had chosen his. It wasn't even something recent: it had probably started when they were Sorted into different Houses, way back when they were only little kids. But maybe, just maybe, if he could prove that not all Gryffindors were as good as she thought...

The doors of the castle were closed, which he had kind of expected, but that was no problem. He knew the castle quite well by now (in fact, he considered it to be more of his home than his own house), and it did not take him long to get to the entrance round the back. It was a smaller door, which did not look like it was used very often, but which he was able to go through nonetheless.

He was now outside, and found himself looking around the grounds. The grass was damp, for it had been raining the past few days, and the smell of wet earth surrounded him. The moon shone over the Forbidden Forest.

Where to go now?

Last year, when Sirius Black had let slip (whether accidentally or on purpose, he had never really understood) that there was a passage under the Whomping Willow, he had been wary. Black was not to be trusted. But curiosity had got the better of him, and he had gone down to the tree, where he had indeed found a pasagge by pressing a knot on the trunk. He had gone down there, nervous as to what he might find. But the only thing he had found was James Potter, laughing and telling him that it had all been a joke, a stupid prank on Sirius' part, not to be taken seriously, but that he should get up to the castle quickly or he might get into trouble. Now that had been strange, because 1. James Potter would never try to stop Severus from being pranked, and 2. he wouldn't care if he got into trouble. But most troublesome of all, when Severus was about to leave, they had heard a blood-curling scream, a real screech, echoing through the tunnel. It had sounded human, but also... not. Potter had gone pale, and they had both left without saying anything more.

So what was it that had screamed? Severus was convinced it was a werewolf. He had not heard a werewolf transforming before, but from what he had heard it was painful, so the screech made sense. And it also made sense that it was Remus Lupin, because Potter had tried to cover up for him.

If it was... Oh, they'd be in so much trouble if he could prove it. They might even get expelled, he thought gleefully.

He reached the Whomping Willow, which was quivering slightly in the breeze. It was almost like a living creature.

Suddenly, the skin on the back of Severus' neck prickled as he heard a faint grunt in the distance. He spun round, and at first couldn't see anything. And then it was as if his heart stopped.

There, at the very edge of the Forest, two figures were moving about. A huge, wolfish shape, only taller and with a broader back. Next to it, an enormous black dog was watching the other warily.

And although Severus had never seen a werewolf in his life, he recognized the bigger animal immediately. It was a werewolf. He couldn't help himself: he gasped.

The effect was instantaneous. The werewolf and the dog spun round at exactly the same moment, and even from where he stood, he could see that the dog's eyes widen. But then Severus' gaze fell on the werewolf, and he had no thought for anything else, because it was moving towards him. It was fast, faster than he thought possible, and it was snarling, it's sharp teeth jutting out from it's open-wide jaws, and he was coming closer and closer, and Severus couldn't react, he was stuck on the spot where he was standing, he couldn't move, and-

Suddenly, Severus heard a loud thudding from behind him, and a second later an enormous figure burst out from behind him. It was another animal, and at first he didn't recognize it. But then he saw it had antlers, which were thrust forward and pointed at the werewolf, who carried on running towards him. The two animals collided with a harsh thudding, and the werewolf fell to the ground. The black dog, who had also been running towards them, leaped on top of it.

Severus felt someone grab his arm, and turned round quickly. It was hard to make out who it was, for their face was in shadow, but when he spoke Severus recognized him.

"Quick, come on, come on, come on," Peter Pettigrew urged him, pulling at his sleeve. Finally, he reacted, and both boys ran back towards the castle. They let themselves in through the door, and collapsed against the corridor wall, panting heavily. The image of the dog leaping on the werewolf kept flashing through Severus' mind.

"What... the hell... was that?" he gasped.

Peter did not answer for a while, but when he did, it was uncertainly, as if he was not quite sure of what he should say. "Well, you saw it..."

"It was a werewolf, wasn't it?" They were sitting, leaning against opposite walls, facing each other. "And the others were..." But suddenly it clicked in Severus' mind. Snatches of conversation he had heard over the years, the Marauder's odd nicknames... Moony. Padfoot. Prongs. Of course, it all made sense now. But Wormtail? "Why wormtail?"

Peter glared at him. "I'm a rat."

Severus stared for a second, and then couldn't help it. He burst out laughing.

"What?" Peter snapped. "What's so funny?"

"Seriously? A rat?"

"Yeah. It had to be a small animal, so I could get to the knot on the Whomping Willow," he said defensively."

Severus stopped laughing. "It's not a bad idea, I'll give you that. All of it, I mean. Well thought out. How long did you take to become Animagus?"

"None of your business," Peter said, standing up. Severus did the same. "And you'd better not tell anyone any of what you've seen."

Severus' eyes glittered. "Oh, that's really likely... Like I'm going to keep quiet about any of this, when I could get you all into so much trouble..."

Peter's eyes widened, making him look like a frightened little kid. "Don't!"

"We'll see about that," Severus smirked. With that, he walked off. He was still smiling when he reached his dormitory, and got into bed.

However, his dreams were filled with images of werewolves and huge dogs and deer. Even the rats look terrifying in his nightmares.

* * *

The next morning, everyone in Hogwarts woke up. For most people, it had been a normal night, not at all remarkable. The students and teachers got up and went down to breakfast, and so did the ghosts (although of course, they had not slept, and they would not be eating anything for breakfast).

But for the four boys in the 6th year dormitory, it was not at all a normal morning. Each of them woke up with their own worries, which were all centered around the same thing: what had happened the night before.

For a moment, Sirius did not remember what had happened. In fact, for a second or two he was quite happy. But then, suddenly, it dawned on him and he sat upright. He looked around, and saw James staring back at him. He was sitting up, leaning his head against the wall behind his bed.

"Morning..." Sirius muttered.

"You weren't able to stop him, were you?" said James.

"He was too strong for me." Sirius remembered it well: how, in his dog form, he had tried to prevent Remus from moving out of the Shrieking Shack, but he had been too strong, too wild. They had chased each other around the grounds, and when Sirius had thought that the werewolf had finally calmed down, they had heard Snape. That stupid prat. Why hadn't he just stayed in his dormitory?

"I'm not blaming you," James assured him. "I wasn't able to stop Snape either, so... I guess it's partly my fault too."

"No, it was my fault, for telling him about the Animagus thing. That was stupid."

"It was," Remus croaked from him bed. His voice was muffled by the pillow he had over his head, "but it's not really your fault either. It's mine, for even allowing you to become Animagus in the first place. I shouldn't have let you..."

"Don't be stupid, Moony," said James.

"It's not stu-"

"It is," Sirius interrupted, agreeing with James. "None of this is your fault, so get over yourself. Anyway, Snivellus wasn't hurt, so it's all over now."

"I don't think it is, actually," Peter said, sitting up in bed too. He rubbed his eyes, a sign that he was either sleepy or worried. "He said he wasn't going to keep quiet about what he'd seen. I think he's planning on telling a teacher or something."

Remus' eyes grew wide. "What? Why would he do that, though?"

"Well, it's obvious," Sirius scowled. "He wants to get us into trouble."

* * *

At that moment, down in the Great Hall, Severus was looking around the breakfast tables, searching for someone in particular. He spotted her quickly, the bright red hair standing out as usual. Quickly, he made his way over and sat down next to her.

"We need to talk."

She jumped, not having realized he was there. "Uh, well..."

"Look, Lily, you said you needed time. And I've given you time, haven't I? It's been ages since... Well, you know. Since I kissed you." None of them spoke for a second.

Then Lily spoke. "I know, Sev, but..."

"But what?"

"But I don't think I can do this anymore. I can't... I can't forgive you for what you said."

"I've said it a million times, I'm sorry for-"

"I know what you've said. But it's not what you say, it's the way you act."

"I don't act in any way, Lily. I'm truly sorry for what I said, and I never meant it. I would never have done something like that if I knew it would have hurt you so badly."

Lily sighed, rubbing her eyes. "You sound so sincere, I might actually believe you... But Sev, I've seen you in the corridors, with your big friends. They think they're so cool, don't they, picking on Muggleborns. Tripping them up, throwing snide comments around."

"I don't do stuff like that..."

"But you don't try to stop them, either. You look on, and you do nothing. You're as bad as them, Sev. That's what you don't seem to understand."

"Lily..."

"Just leave it. Please."

Severus looked at her. She seemed determined, her lips set in a thin line as she looked back at him. He knew that this was the end of it, that this would be the last time, but he had to try one more thing. "You kissed me back."

Her eyes narrowed for a second, almost in pain, but she didn't answer. There was nothing she could say, that she had not told him a million times before.

He knew that, so he finally got up to leave. He had already taken a step away when he turned back around. "There's something you need to know, though."

"Sev..."

"No, seriously. I really think you deserve to know. Ask Potter about what happened last night."

Her eyebrows drew together in confusion. "What?"

"Ask him. You trust him so much, but maybe if you knew..." He trailed off, and turned back around. Step by step, he walked away from Lily.

She was left alone with a spinning mind. That was when she noticed a small, folded piece of paper resting in front of her on the table. With nimble fingers, she opened it quickly. In a thin, scrawled writing which she recognized well, there was written one word.

_Always._

Her thoughts flashed back to a few years previously. It had been a warm summer morning, and she and Severus had been in the park. They had been lying there in the grass under the trees, talking about everything and nothing. It had been perfect: she had felt truly content, and she knew Severus had too.

"Sev?"

"Yeah?"

"Even when we go to Hogwarts, we'll still do this kind of thing, won't we? Laze around in the park, just you and me..."

He had been quiet for a moment or two, but when he spoke, she could hear the smile in his voice. "Of course."

"And when we leave Hogwarts, we'll still carry on seeing each other, right?"

He smiled again. "Always."

She had agreed with him. Only now, after they'd gone through so much... She could see that promising someone "always" wasn't really a good idea. People change. She and Sev certainly had.

And although she had promised herself, way back, that she would never cry over a boy, in that moment she did.

* * *

Outside the Great Hall, Severus was trying hard to keep in the tears. He had cried before: over his parents, over the argument he had had with Lily last year... But this was different. It was like he physically needed to cry, but couldn't quite do it.

He spun round when he heard someone coughing right behind him. It was the Marauders, the four people he least wanted to see right now.

"What do you want?" he muttered.

"We want to make sure you'll keep quiet about you saw," said Sirius. "There's no need for any trouble, if you just keep your mouth shut."

"Is that a threat?"

"No, it's a warning," James growled. "Don't tell any teachers, or any students."

"Calm down. I won't tell any teachers," Severus answered, a slight smirk on his face. If there was anything that could cheer him up right now, it was the worried look on the boy's faces. He was enjoying it.

"No students, either," said Remus. That was what worried him the most: that Snape would tell a kid, and that that kid would tell another, and another, and that in the end the whole school would know. They'd probably tell their parents, too, and they'd get worried. The parents would send letters in, demanding his expulsion from Hogwarts. The very thought made him feel weak...

"Well, I can't promise you that."

"Oh, come on-"

"Come on what, Black?" Snape scowled. "It was you who led me to finding it all out in the first place. I could have been killed because of you."

"If you hadn't stuck your nose into something that was none of your business..."

"Whatever. In any case, you'd better not cross me, or I might just find myself telling Professor Dumbledore about your monthly escapades..." With a final smirk, Severus left the four boys standing there in the Entrance Hall.

"Shit," said Sirius. He kicked the wall angrily.

"Did that help?" Remus asked him.

"Yes," he snapped, rubbing his toes. "It hurt, though."

"What are we going to do, then?" Peter wondered.

"We'll just have to not cross him, as he says. Stay away from him. Not get into any fights," said James. "It's not going to be easy, but still."

The other three nodded. There was nothing else they could really do.

"I'm starving," Sirius said as his stomach grumbled.

"Me too," James agreed.

They all went into the Great Hall, where the breakfast was laid out over the tables. It looked delicious as usual, but James was preoccupied by something else. He made his way down the benches, leaving his friends behind him, until he reached the person he wanted.

She was sitting with her head in her hands, her hair falling over her face. He put his arm round her and she looked up. Her eyes were red, her cheeks streaked with tears.

"Lily? Are you okay?"

She looked at him for a second, and then buried her head in his shoulder, sobbing. The people sitting around them stared at her, curious.

James surrounded her with his arms, pulling her up closer. "Let it all out..." he whispered, although he was not sure whether she had heard him. After a while, her sobs faded, and she sat upright. She rubbed her eyes, wiping the tears away quickly.

"Oh, I'm sorry, James... You shouldn't have had to put up with that," she muttered.

"Nah, it's alright. You looked like you needed a hug."

"Thanks," she said sincerely. "It's just too much for me."

"What is?"

"Oh, everything," she sighed.

He waited for her to explain, but after a moment it was clear that she wasn't going to. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

She was about to say that there wasn't, but suddenly remembered something Severus had said. "There is, actually. I wanted to ask you something."

"Ask away," he said, glad he could do something to help.

"What happened last night?"


	32. A Tale of the Marauder's Nicknames

James sat there, looking at her. He was not even aware of how intense his gaze was, or how the people around them might mistake it for a look of love. In that moment, the only thing that he was aware of were the warning flashes in his mind. Remus was in danger of being discovered. Remus was in danger of being discovered.

"It was Snape, wasn't it." It was more of an affirmation than a question. "He told you."

"Told me what?" Lily was completely confused. In fact, what confused her the most was the look of pure horror on James' face. "I didn't even know there was anything to tell until a few minutes back. What is it?"

James sighed. "I can't... I can't tell you that."

"Is it really so bad you can't tell me?"

Maybe he should have denied it: said it was not important, although it was probably too late for that. Or maybe he should have told her it was none of her business, although she would definitely take that personally. Whatever he did, he could only make matters worse.

It wasn't like he didn't trust her, either. He trusted her completely. It just wasn't his secret to tell.

"Can you wait here a second?" he said to her, standing up. He went back to where his friends were sitting, and squeezed in next to Remus, who looked at him quizzically.

"Moony... Snape told Lily."

"What?" Remus looked aghast.

"Why would he do that, though?" Sirius asked him. "Why Lily in particular?"

James thought about that. The answer seemed quite obvious to him. "He wants Lily to think badly of us. He doesn't like us, me in particular, so he wants Lily to hate us too."

Peter blinked. "What, you think he'd actually do that?"

"I don't know, it seems like the only explanation. But anyway, he must've told her something."

"What did she say, exactly?" Remus breathed out through his teeth.

"She asked me what had happened last night. Like she knew something was wrong."

"Right. So what are you going to do?"

James sighed. "I thought... I thought I should tell her."

"What?" Remus rarely lost his calm, but on this occasion he did. He almost shouted it. "Are you kidding me?"

"No, listen-"

"No way! Look, just because you have a crush on a girl, it doesn't mean you have to go telling her everyone's secrets."

"Oh, come on, Moony, that's not fair-"

"It's true, though. You only want to tell her so that she trusts you. Well, there's no way I'm letting you tell her. No way in hell."

"Look, I'm not doing it because of that, okay? But she knows something's up now, and she won't stop until she find out what it is." James knew her well enough by now to be quite sure of that. Lily had curiosity, and a lot of it. "So I think, instead of her finding out on her own, we should just tell her."

"But what if she tells someone else, though?"

"She won't," James said confidently. "Not if you ask her specifically not to."

Remus looked down the table towards Lily, who was quietly eating her breakfast. She looked calm, and if he had had to chose anyone to tell his secret to (apart from the Marauders), he would have chosen her. But even so... what if it slipped out accidentally? He had seen how easy it was for Sirius to spill it... Then again, Sirius had not meant to, and it had turned out alright in the end. He sighed. "Okay, then. We'll go and tell her."

James looked surprised. "What, all of us?"

"Yes. I want to see if she takes it alright."

So James, Remus, Sirius and Peter all got up, and filed down to where Lily was sitting. She looked up, bemused.

"I thought this had to do with James... Mind you, you four always tend to surprise me... So, have you come to tell me what that was all about? What happened last night?"

"Yes," James nodded. "Now, Lily, first of all, I want to ask you to please, please keep quiet about what I'm about to tell you."

"Okay."

"No, you have to promise," Remus insisted.

Lily blinked. "Alright, I promise."

"Good," James continued, lowering his voice slightly, so that the people around them would not hear. "Well, this might come as a bit of a shock to you, but Remus is a... werewolf."

This time Lily didn't blink, simply looked at Remus. "Mmm."

"Mmm what?" Sirius exclaimed. "Is that all you're going to say?"

"Well, I have to say I'm not very surprised," said Lily. "I mean, all those visits to your mum... And you usually look a bit ill before the full moon... Is that how you got those scars, then?"

Remus nodded, his fingers tracing the slashes he had across his cheek. They did not stand out too much, but they were still visible.

"You poor thing..." Lily muttered. "So, what happened last night? Oh, it was a full moon, wasn't it?" she realized.

"Yep," said James. "It was a full moon."

"Hang on, though... What has that got to do with you, James? Why did Sev tell me to ask you instead of Remus?"

"It has to do with all four of us, actually." He took a deep breath. "When we found out that Moony here was a werewolf, we wanted to help him. So we thought... we became Animagus. To stop him from hurting himself."

At this, Lily did blink. "What? You're telling me you three are Animagus?"

They nodded.

"But... But McGonagall said that there weren't many Animagus registered-"

"Well, that's because we're not registered," Sirius said sheepishly. Although he sounded slightly guilty, there was also a trace of pride in his voice. "We couldn't tell anyone, you see."

"So what animals are you?" she asked them curiously.

"I'm a dog," Sirius grinned.

"A dog? Really?"

"Yeah. A big black one. Almost as strong as Moony."

"So that's where you got your nickname! Padfoot... Of course. And Moony too, because of the moon... So what about you two?" she turned to James and Peter. "What animals are you?"

"I'm a rat," Peter muttered. "It had to be a small animal, so I could hit the knot on the Whomping Willow..."

"The Whomping Willow? What's that got to do with anything?"

"It stands over a passageway," said Remus. "That leads to the Shrieking Shack. That's where I go at night, by the way. The tree was put there for my benefit, you know. It was planted the year I came to Hogwarts."

"Seriously? I thought it had always been here..." said Lily. "And you, James?"

"Guess," he grinned.

"Oh, come on, how am I meant to guess that? You could be any... No, wait. Prongs... Mmm, interesting." She paused for a second, thinking about it. "A stag?"

"You got it," he smiled.

She smiled back at him, but the only thing she was thinking about was the fact that her Patronus was a doe. Coincidence? She was silent for a moment or two. "That's actually quite impressive," she said quietly.

James grinned. "I know, right?"

"But you still haven't explained what happened last night."

That wiped the smile off James' face. "What exactly did Snape tell you?"

"Nothing. He just told me to ask you about it."

"Right. Well, he asked Sirius about it, and Sirius-"

"Yeah, I know, I know, I'm sorry," Sirius muttered regretfully.

"-let slip something about being Animagus, and how it would be a good idea to become one if you were trying to stop a werewolf. So Snape must have twigged..."

"He's been suspicious about it for years, you know," Lily said to Remus. "He was convinced you were a werewolf. To be honest, I never quite believed him. You always seemed too... I don't know... too calm to be a werewolf."

"Well, anyway, last night Snape sneaked out into the grounds, trying to find out whether it was true. And it just so happened that Remus had come closer to the school than usual-"

"What? You come near the school?" Lily sounded shocked. "But isn't that dangerous?"

"I know, I'm sorry," said Remus. "It doesn't happen often, though. And when it does, Padfoot and Prongs are always there to stop me."

"Yeah, we're strong enough to stop him," Sirius interceded. "We're cool that way."

"But Snape... Well, it was his fault for coming to look for us in the first place... But he got pretty close to Remus."

Lily's eyes widened.

"We tried to stop him," James assured her. "Anyway, he's alright now. Peter led him back to the castle. Also, he's said he won't tell anyone. So let's hope we can trust him on that one."

"He won't," Lily said. "If he said he won't tell anyone, he'll keep his promise."

"Let's hope so-" James started to say, when Professor McGonagall approached them from behind.

"Mister Lupin, Miss Evans," she said to them. "Could you please come with me?"

The two of them stood up. Lily looked at Remus, but he shrugged: he didn't have any idea what this was about either. Then an idea occurred to him: what if Snape had said something? Oh, Merlin, if he had... He wasn't meant to be near the castle at night...

They finally reached the Entrance Hall, where it was fairly silent in comparison to the room they had just left.

"There's going to be a meeting in the Headmaster's Office in an hour or so. Prefects and teachers only."

"Why?" Lily wondered.

"There's been another attack. This time they've been seriously hurt."


	33. A Tale of War In Hogwarts

"Not again," Lily whispered as McGonagall kept talking.

"Yes, this time it was a Hufflepuff who was attacked. A first year, she was Imperiused, and was obviously not able to fight off the curse. A roommate of hers found her, but it was a long while after she..."

"After she what, Professor?" Remus asked her. They had never seen her so un-calm. It was not like her.

"She... she tried to kill herself, Mister Lupin. She attempted to slit her wrists with a knife."

Lily and Remus looked at their teacher, both completely speechless.

"But that was not all," McGonagall sighed. "It appears that she used the knife to engrave some words on her arm. "Mudblood""

Lily tried to say something, but there was nothing that she could think of to describe how she felt right then. It was a deep swelling feeling inside her, a disgust beyond all she had ever felt before. It was not fair, because that girl (whom Lily did not even know) would have to look at those cuts, those marks on her arm that she had put there herself, and she would be reminded of what some people thought every time. "Are there... is there going to be scarring?" she asked in a small voice.

Professor McGonagall nodded curtly. "There's nothing Poppy- Madam Pomfrey to you," she amended. "There's nothing she can do about it."

"But this girl, is she alright? She's still alive, right?"

"She's still alive, but barely. She lost a lot of blood before her friend found her. Her friend is also being treated for shock. In any case, I came here only to inform you of what happened. Make sure you are at the meeting." She nodded at them, almost sympathetically, and walked off down the hallway.

Lily looked at Remus, and she could see the same feeling of shock and disgust reflected back at her. "How could someone...?"

"I know," he said. She looked like she was about to cry, so he took a step towards her. It only took her one moment for her to burst out crying, and she buried herself in his hug.

"Those scars," she sobbed. "How could they? She's only a first year... the scars will always be there..."

He said nothing, knowing that in moments like this it was probably better for her to let it all out. It had been an emotional morning for her anyway, what with the Snape thing and now this. He only pulled away when he heard a cough from behind him.

It was Sirius, Peter and James. The last one was looking at them oddly, and Remus realized suddenly what the scene might have looked like from someone else's eyes. Especially James' eyes, which were bound to be a bit paranoid.

"So what's up?" Sirius asked them pleasantly. He had a cupcake in his hand, and took an enormous bite out of it. His pleasant demeanor vanished when he saw the expression on their faces. "What? What did she tell you? And have you been crying, Lily-flower?"

Lily wiped the tear-streaks off her cheeks. "A Hufflepuff first year tried to kill herself. While Imperiused."

"What?" They all looked as shocked as Lily and Remus felt.

"You're not kidding, are you?" Sirius checked.

"Do you really think we'd joke about something like this?" snapped Lily. Then she sighed. "Sorry. I'm just... She engraved "Mudblood" on her arm with a knife, and there's going to be scarring for the rest of her life. She'll never be able to forget."

There was silence for a moment while they all thought about that. "Will any of us?" said James after a moment. "This is getting too big... And I don't just mean the attacks at Hogwarts. Did any of you read the newspaper yesterday?"

They nodded. "About the family who...?"

"Yeah. The parents and three kids. They were attacked by these so-called Death Eaters, just because the mother was a Muggle..."

"It's horrible," Peter agreed, biting his lip. "But what is there to do about it? I mean, they're powerful enough as it is, and they're only getting stronger..."

"I don't know. But I know that, as soon as I'm out of here, I'm going to try and find a way," Sirius said determinedly.

James and Remus nodded. To Lily, it looked like they had already had that discussion before, and their minds were set. After a second, Peter nodded too.

"I want to go and see the girl who was attacked. She's in the Hospital Wing, right?" said Lily.

"Yes, that's what McGonagall said," Remus confirmed. "But didn't she say she was unconscious, too? Maybe we should wait until tomorrow. Give her time to rest and stuff."

Lily nodded. "We'd better get going, then. We've got a meeting in the Headmaster's office, and it's probably best if we're not late."

"I'm going up to the Common Room," said Sirius. "Are you two coming?"

James and Peter said they were, and so they all started off in different directions, until Remus called out. "Hey, Prongs, I wanted to talk to you."

James looked surprised, but he walked over to his friend nonetheless. Sirius, Peter and Lily offered to wait for them, but Remus waved for them to carry on. This wasn't something he really wanted them to hear.

"You know, what you saw before... Me and Lily, we're not like..." he started. James looked confused. "I mean, the way you were looking at us... We're not together, if that's what you were thinking."

James suddenly understood. "Oh, right! No, I hadn't thought that. You're friends, you can hug her when you want to. You don't need my permission for it," he said, playfully punching him on the shoulder.

"Okay," Remus sounded relieved. "I just wanted to make sure."

James looked serious for a moment, then grinned. "Moony, as much I regret it, she's not my girlfriend. You can't be jealous over something that isn't yours."

And to that, Remus had no answer.

* * *

The Headmaster's office was completely silent, despite the fact that it was full of people. They were all waiting expectantly for him to speak, but he simply sat there: hands folded on top of his desk, looking around him thoughtfully. His demeanor was as calm as always.

After a few minutes, he began to talk. "Well... You all know what you're here for. You're all well aware of the problem we are facing." He paused for a second. "By saying this, I am not referring simply to what is happening here at Hogwarts, but what is happening on the outside too. You all know there is a war on."

There was silence. Of course, they all knew he was right. All these attacks in the newspaper, all the murders and the cursing, these had not been every-day happenings a few years back. But it looked like these things were part of their lives now. Part of everyone's life.

It was strange, Lily thought. Living at Hogwarts, safe in a protected castle, you could almost ignore it. But no student could remain at Hogwarts forever. There would come a time when they would have to leave, and when they did... The war wouldn't remain distant forever. Especially not for someone like her.

"You are all getting older," the Headmaster continued, "and soon you will become of age. You will have to make decisions. Now, I am not asking you to pick sides, because I trust you will go forth into the world wisely. What I do want you to realize is that the attacks that are occurring here are probably connected to what is happening outside right now." He looked at them all with his piercing blue gaze, and to Lily he looked calm and wise and sad, and she didn't understand how someone could be all three at the same time.

"So what are you suggesting we do, sir?" Jeremy Edgecombe spoke up. "We've already put up extra security, more patrols..."

"Oh, I am not suggesting we change the protection around the castle, Mister Edgecombe," Dumbledore said with a smile.

"Then what...?"

"I am merely trying to say that these attacks are happening due to what is happening outside. I want you to understand that these students are being harmed because of a way of thinking. A way of thinking that I, for one, believe to be not only ignorant, but harmful too." He smiled. "But enough for tonight. You've got homework and studying to get back to, and I will retain you no longer."

He spoke with such a sudden finality that it took them all a second or two to stand up and leave. Lily saw Remus gesturing, so she went over to where he was, and they both walked out of the room and down the corridor.

"That wasn't much of a meeting," she remarked. "He didn't even tell us the girl's name."

"Dianne Corner," said Remus. "I was talking to Amos, you know, the Hufflepuff prefect. And he told me."

"Well, I'm going to go and see her tomorrow. I want to make sure..."

"Make sure what?" Remus asked her.

Lily sighed. "I want to make sure she knows it wasn't her fault."

"Well, it wasn't."

"I know, but... I mean, she tried to kill herself. I want to know she's going to be alright."

Remus nodded. "I wish Dumbledore had suggested something else, though. More patrols or something. I feel kind of useless, doing nothing."

"I get what you mean," said Lily. "But is there really anything we can do? These attacks are happening almost randomly, not at any given time or place. It's weird... Almost like they're not planned."

Remus looked at her. "What, you think they just happen, just like that?"

"No, I was thinking that it seems like they're spontaneous. Like, not planned at all."

"But they're all by the same person, right?"

"Oh, yeah," she said thoughtfully. "There's no doubt about that. If you look at the attacks, they're all basically the same. Someone under the Imperius Curse attacks someone, occasionally themselves. It's a pattern."

"I wish we knew who it was..." Remus sighed.

"Me too. I'd been thinking that for a while, but then I thought, seeing as it looked like the attacks were over... But now I'm starting to think about it again. I think we should find out."

Remus stared at her. "Lily..."

"What?" she asked him defiantly.

"I know you want to help, but do you really think that if Dumbledore hasn't found out who it by now, you will?"

She bit her lip. "I know... I just think that an extra pair of eyes won't go amiss."

"Well, I agree with you on that," he said as they turned round a corner. "But you do realize, if you go investigating into this kind of stuff, or whatever it is you've got planned, you might get into trouble?"

"Yes..."

"And worse than that, you might get hurt?" Remus worried.

"I know that too, but I can't just stand by and do nothing. It might be me next," she said. And even though there was determination in her voice, Remus could still hear the fear behind it.

* * *

"But what exactly did she say?" James asked Remus.

They were sitting by the fire in the Common Room, Sirius trying to roast some crumpets. Peter was watching him eagerly, while James and Remus were talking.

"I don't know, she just seems pretty cut up about all of this..."

"Well, aren't we all?"

"Yeah, but I think she wants to do something about it. It looks like she's going to start investigating or something."

"What?" James looked shocked. "Why didn't you try to stop her?"

"Well, I sort of did... But you know what she's like once she's made up her mind..."

"Yeah, but you should have tried anyway!" James stood up.

"Where are you going?" Sirius asked him.

"I'm going to find Lily," he said, already walking off.

"This isn't going to end well..." Remus muttered. It never did, when James went off like that. He could be very hot-headed sometimes, and it would often land him in problems.

"He could have at least stayed 'till I finished the crumpets," said Sirius.

* * *

James left the Common Room, knowing exactly where Lily would be. He thought about that: how strange it was that, over the past few months, he had grown to know her so well. Then again, it was not such a hard place to predict.

He climbed onto the roof that Sirius had shown them, and indeed found Lily there. He wasn't surprised, but she was when she saw him.

"Homework?" he asked her, as he saw all the textbooks and parchment she had spread out in front of her.

"Yeah," she sighed wearily, rubbing her eyes. "It's a good place to do it, up here. Not as noisy as the Common Room."

"Bit lonely, though," he said, sitting down.

"Just because you're alone, it doesn't mean you're lonely," she replied.

"Wow, that's deep," he smiled at her. "I love it when you get all philosophical."

In spite of herself, she couldn't help but grin. "Asshole. Anyway, why did you come up here, if it wasn't because you wanted to be alone?"

"I knew you'd be here," he said. "I wanted to talk to you."

"What about?" she asked him pleasantly. It was fairly sunny up there, and she lay back against the roof, looking up at the sky.

"You're going to start investigating the attacks."

Her smile disappeared, replaced by a slight frown. "Yes."

"Why?"

"Well, don't you want to know who it is who's attacking all these Muggleborns, and curse their ass off?"

"Of course. But Dumbledore will have been putting his biggest efforts into finding out who it was. What makes you think you can when he can't?"

"I don't." She sat up again, and looked at him. "But I can't stand the thought of just doing nothing."

"Lily, why do you have to be so stubborn? Whoever it is, they're dangerous. If they've attacked that many people already, they can attack someone else easily."

"I know that. You think I don't realize how dangerous all of this is?" she snapped.

He stared at her. He has seen her angry before (the anger usually directed at him), but this was different. She looked close to breaking point.

"What are you staring at?"

He grinned. "You."

"Well don't."

"Why not?"

"Because it makes me uncomfortable," she blushed.

At that, he laughed out loud. "Well, that's not going to stop me from staring at you. Sorry, but I enjoy it too much."

"Prat."

"Stubborn git."

They laughed. Lily lay back again, basking in the sun.

"Aren't you meant to be doing your homework?" James teased her.

"I really don't fancy solving any Transfiguration problems right now. Anyway, there's all weekend to finish them."

"Ooh, leaving homework until the last minute?"

"Get lost," she smiled.

He laughed. There was nothing he enjoyed more than simply laughing with her, teasing and bantering. Simply enjoying being with her. She looked so beautiful, lying there in the sun. Her hair as bright as ever, the freckles standing out even more than usual in that light...

"Stop staring at me."

James blushed. "No."

"Stop it!" she shoved him playfully.

"No."

"Aw, get lost, James Potter," she told him again.

"You don't really want that."

"No, I don't," she admitted.


	34. A Tale of Starting Investigating

**Hi everyone! Well, I've been thinking about it, and I think I'm going to start posting shorter chapters, but more regularly. What do you think? Hope you enjoy this one :)**

* * *

The next morning, the first thing Lily thought about was Dianne Corner, the Hufflepuff who had been Imperiused. She felt a bitter sorrow welling up in her, but also anger, and a powerful urge to do something. Anything.

The second thing she thought about was James Potter. She smiled at the evening they had spent together the day before. On the roof for hours, simply talking, joking and laughing. For a moment, she had been able to forget everything that was going on in the outside world. Then again, James had always had that effect on her: he could make her forget everything else. She wasn't sure if that was good or bad.

Although she didn't really care to admit it, he was one of the main reasons to why she looked forward to the day ahead of her.

She got up and ready for breakfast, dragged Avril out of bed, made sure the other three girls were up too, and went down to breakfast with her friends. While she was sitting in front of a bowl of cornflakes, someone sat down next her. It was so quick, so unnoticeable, that Lily was already certain of who it was before she even turned round.

"Morning," James greeted her. "So, where are we starting?"

"What do you mean?" Lily had no idea what he was talking about.

"Well, we're investigating, aren't we? About the attacks..." he reminded her. "Where are we starting to look for clues?"

"What do you mean "we"?"

"Well, I-" he was about to say, when Avril interrupted.

"What's this about investigating, anyway?"

Lily sighed. "Look, it's none of yours or James' business, so-"

"What? Of course it's our business," said James.

Lily tried to say something, but he carried on talking. He wore a strange expression, one Lily had not seen before: more serious than usual. "You know what your problem is? You think you're the only one that can fight this war." He got up, looking annoyed, and started to leave the table, but Lily called after him.

"What does that even mean?"

He turned round. "You don't get it, do you? You don't get that this whole war isn't about Muggleborns. It's not just them who are getting attacked." He spoke passionately, in a way Lily hadn't expected only seconds before. "It's about standing up for what you believe in. Your ideals. As well as for the people you love," he added, not meeting her eye.

Lily thought about that as she watched James leave the Great Hall. It took her barely a second to run after him. She caught him by the arm right when he was going up the staircase back to the Common Room, and he spun round.

"I can understand that," she said. "But I also want you to understand that I... okay, this sounds egocentric, but it's how I feel... I want you to understand that it's as if I relate to it more. Because of me being a Muggleborn. And I'm not saying I relate to it more than you, or anyone else," she added quickly. "I'm just saying that it's more... personal, I guess you could say."

"I get that, Lily. But you're not the only one who disagrees with Voldemort's kind of thinking."

"I know..." she sighed, sitting down on a step. Right then, she didn't care if she was in the middle of a staircase. And anyway, it was wide enough for people to go past.

James sat down next to her. "So... where do we start?" He grinned.

She grinned back.

* * *

Moments later, they entered the Hospital Wing quietly, and approached the only bed that was occupied in the whole ward. In it was a small pale girl, with auburn curls and glasses that looked slightly too big for her. Every so often, they would slip down her nose, and she would push the back up again. She looked at them as they approached, not with curiosity but with resignation.

"You're Lily Evans, aren't you?" she said to Lily, as both 6th years sat down on the bed next to hers.

"Yes I am," Lily nodded. "Not to be rude, but do I know you?"

"You probably don't remember, it was a while back... I lost my pencil-case, and you helped me find it," she smiled.

"Oh, yeah, I remember now! You seemed kind of lost, with it being the first week of school... But anyway, how are you feeling?"

Dianne nibbled on her lip. "Alright. Considering."

James spoke up. "Do you remember anything?"

"Not really. The last thing I remember was that I was going up to my dormitory, and suddenly I blacked out."

"So you don't remember who attacked you?" Lily asked her, slightly dismayed.

"No. Sorry, but... why are you asking?" She seemed suspicious.

James and Lily looked at each other, and Lily nodded slightly, almost inquiringly. James nodded back, then turned to Dianne. "We're investigating. We want to know who it is who's attacking all these people, and make sure they get what they deserve."

Dianne thought about that. "And you think you two can find out?"

"Well, I wouldn't go as far as that," Lily said with a shrug. "But we're going to try."

Dianne smiled. "You know what, I think you'd make a good Head Girl."

"Well... thanks," Lily returned the smile.

Next to her, James was beaming. "I've always thought the same. She's bossy, stubborn, she studies loads... She'd be a good Head Girl."

Lily stuck her tongue out at him, and he laughed. Dianne watched them curiously. "Are you two...?"

For a second, neither of them knew what she was talking about, but suddenly Lily's eyes widened. "Are we, like, together?" She laughed as Dianne nodded. "No, we're not. No way."

James raised an eyebrow. "Gee, thanks, Lily."

She blushed. "Oh, no, I didn't mean it to sound like that..."

He shrugged it off with a laugh. "It's okay. No offense taken." And he hadn't, not really. He wasn't offended by the way she had denied it, it was more... He wished she hadn't _had_ to deny it.


	35. A Tale of Astronomy Tower and Homework

As they left the Hospital Wing, Lily noticed James looking at her more than usual. Had she really offended him by that comment? She hadn't meant it to come out that way...

It was just... It had been too many years, of hating him, of thinking he was the stupidest, most arrogant toerag on the face of the planet, for her to now start thinking of him as something else. Yes, friends was okay, in fact friends was good, but was there something else there? Something that hid in the speed with which she had denied that they were together?

Lily sighed, and looked over at James as they walked down the corridor in silence. His thoughtful expression, the way his hair stuck up at the back, the way he walked... It was all so familiar to her, so right, that in that moment she wondered how it was possible that she could have hated him for so long.

He glanced sideways, and noticed her looking. "What?"

"Nothing," she was quick to say.

"No, seriously, why were you staring at me like that?"

"Just... where you really offended by what I said back there?"

That made him laugh. "No, I was kidding. Of course you were right to tell her we're not together. I mean, we're not."

"No, we're not," Lily agreed. "But maybe I could have said it a bit more nicely."

He chuckled again. "Maybe. Anyway... how are we going to carry on investigating? It's not like she told us much that we didn't know."

Lily sighed heavily. She had hoped (although not expected) for a detail or two that might help them, but Dianne Corner had told them nothing new. "I have no idea, what about you?"

"No idea either. Although maybe..."

"Maybe what?"

"Maybe we could start looking at all the places where people got attacked."

Lily thought about it, and then nodded. "That's actually a good idea." James puffed his chest out, looking so pleased with himself that Lily burst out laughing. "But don't let it go to your head," she added.

They tried to recall all the places where people had been attacked, and made their way to the first one. The Astronomy Tower was well lit, with windows at regular intervals up the staircase. As the walked past one, Lily was able to admire the incredible view of the Lake. After almost six years there, she was still impressed by it all: the classes, the teachers, the spells, the grounds... She found that the people who had grown up with magic all their lives found it quite normal, but she still marveled at every single new thing she saw.

"Stunning, huh?" James remarked as he noticed her looking through the next window they came across.

"Very," she agreed.

"It reminds me of home. We have a lake there too."

"Really?" Lily looked surprised. She knew James' family was rich, but not that rich. "You have a lake in your house?"

"No," he laughed. "I meant, there's a lake where we live. In the village."

"Oh, right... Is it nice?"

"Yeah." As he said it, he smiled, remembering all the days he had spent at the lake's edge.

"I wouldn't mind seeing it," Lily said without thinking.

"You're invited any time you like," James replied casually. "I'll be there all summer."

Lily smiled at him. A few months before she would never had imagined he would say something like that to her, and even less that she wanted to take him up on the offer.

They finally reached the top of the Astronomy, from where the views were even more spectacular. The wind beat against their faces, reddening their cheeks and ruffling their hair. It was a common spot, although mostly in summer or late spring, for couples to go and spend time alone, and both of them knew it. The walls were full of initials, and as Lily read them, she wondered vaguely who each of them belonged to.

"Any of yours here?" James asked her, half-teasing, half-curious.

"Nope. Yours?"

"Mine neither. All a bit too cissy for me, to be honest."

"Really? Not the romantic type, then?" she smiled.

"Well, it depends who with," he returned the smile.

"Oh, yeah...?" she was about to ask, but then noticed something. "Hey, look at this."

James went over to where she was standing, and followed her gaze. She was staring at a small mark on the wall, rather like a small burn. It had no particular shape, but was unusually dark.

"What about it?"

"Well, what is it?" Lily wondered.

"Um, a burn I guess..." He didn't really understand what she was getting at.

"Why would there be a burn up here?"

"Probably just an accident or something... Who knows? But it's not unusual..."

Lily bit her lip. "I guess not."

James looked at her. She seemed disappointed. "I get it. You wanted to find something unusual, right? A clue, or whatever."

"Yeah," she sighed. "I wanted to find something that would help us, or at least give us some ideas. But I suppose I'm just clutching at straws with this..." she gestured to the burn-mark once more.

"We might still find something, though," James tried to sound optimistic.

They looked around the top of the Astronomy Tower for a while longer, but eventually they had to face the facts. There was nothing unusual there, and definitely nothing that would help them along with the investigation.

A few minutes later, they were already downstairs.

"I'd better get on with the Transfiguration essay, then," said Lily.

James groaned. "I'd forgotten about that... I really don't fancy doing it..."

"Well, you're going to have to," she grinned at him, taking his hand. "But it might be a bit less boring if we do it together."

He grinned back at her. She was right: the prospect of an evening doing Transfiguration homework did not seem as dull if it was with Lily Evans.


	36. A Tale of Just Friends

January slowly became February. The weather didn't get any warmer, but Lily didn't dislike it: it was the season of thick woolly jumpers, of steaming hot chocolate for breakfast, and frost on the windows of the castle.

This was also the month of St. Valentine's, which so happened to coincide with a trip to Hogsmeade. For the 6th years (and indeed for most of the other students), it seemed like an important occasion.

Avril, especially, realized the consequences of a St. Valentine's/Hogsmead trip. On a cold afternoon, only a week before the trip, she arrived at the Common Room, and slammed her books down on the table, causing a couple of alarmed 1st years to stare in her direction.

"What are you all gawping at?" she snapped. They looked away hurriedly.

"Bit harsh, wasn't it?" Lily asked her. She was sitting at the table where Avril had just slammed her books onto, and was looking quite concerned.

"It's true, they're always staring at everyone!" she excused herself, sitting down. "But I guess I overreacted... I just got asked out on the trip again," she explained.

"Again?" Dorcas asked from the other end of the table.

"Yeah... I'm getting well sick of it..."

"Sick of it? You should be flattered, loads of people want to go out with you," said Dorcas. "Unlike me... No one's asked me yet..."

"Well, why don't you ask someone?" Lily said. She found it a bit daft that it was usually the guy who asked the girl out, and not the other way around.

"There's no one I really want to go with..."

"Then quit complaining," Robyn said pleasantly. She was sitting on Lily's other side. "No one's asked me yet, either, and look how much I care."

"Yeah, but you don't give a damn about boys. Hey, we could go together," Dorcas suggested. "I mean, who cares if it coincides with St. Valentine's? We can go as just a group of friends. You want to come too, Lils?"

Lily blushed. "Um... Well, sorry, Dorcas, but someone already asked me out..."

"Really? Who?" her friends asked her curiously.

"Yeah, and how come you haven't told us up till now?" Avril demanded.

"He only asked me this morning... And I was going to tell you, but I had studying to do, and..."

"Who is it, though?"

"Promise you won't laugh?"

"Of course not..." they sighed impatiently.

"Aaron Jones."

They were quiet for a second, then started speaking all at once.

"Are you kidding me?"

"The Quidditch player?"

"Why would we have laughed at you for that? He's-"

"But you barely know him!"

"-extremely fit," Avril finished. "How did this even happen?"

"Well, he's been to a few of Slughorn's parties recently, and we started talking, and he seems kind of nice. Really kind, you know."

"And fit," added Avril.

"So he asked me this morning. He was really shy," Lily smiled, "all nervous. And I said yes."

"Blimey..." Dorcas whistled under her breath. "That was unexpected. But you're right, he's really nice. A good team-mate, too."

"But we're going as just friends, you do realize that?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Avril laughed. "It always starts as "just friends""

"No, really. Just friends."

"I doubt he sees it that way..." Robyn muttered.

"Do you think?" Lily wondered. "I hope not... I mean, he's nice and all, but I don't really want to date him..."

"Why ever not?" Dorcas raised an eyebrow sceptically. "He's nice, he's funny, and he's one of the hottest boys around."

"I don't fancy him, though..." Lily explained to her.

"Well, you go on the date and have fun, yeah?" said Avril. She was about to add something else when James arrived at the table.

"Hey, how are my gorgeous girls going?" he smiled around.

"Transfiguration is getting more and more boring by the minute," said Dorcas.

James laughed, and then looked at Lily hopefully. "Um, Lily...? Do you mind if we talk for a second?"

By that, Lily guessed he meant in private, so she got up and walked over to the fire, where thankfully there was no one sitting. James followed, and bit his lip nervously, not saying anything.

"Well?" Lily wondered what he wanted.

"I... um, I was wondering... Do you want to come on the Hogsmeade trip with me?"

Lily's surprise must have shown on her face, because he quickly added, "As friends, of course. Just friends."

"It's not that... I'm kind of going with someone else."

"What? Who?" he looked shocked. Too shocked to be disappointed, even.

"Aaron Jones."

Disappointment did show in his eyes, then. "Oh, right... Well, um, have a nice time with him then."

"I'm not dating him or anything," she said quickly. "We're going as just friends." She didn't know where that need to justify herself had come from.

James attempted to smile. "In any case, enjoy it. Aaron's a good guy, it'll be fun." As he turned around, leaving Lily next to the fire in a state of confusion, he thought about what he had just said. Aaron Jones _was_ a nice guy, and he also realized he was kind of attractive, if you liked tall and muscled types. The thought of Lily on a date (or whatever) with him was quite depressing.

He suddenly realized how stupid he was being: hadn't Lily said they were going as "just friends"? And in any case, she was free to go out with whoever she wanted. If only he had asked her out yesterday, though...


End file.
